Life Rewritten
by randompast
Summary: Aaron and Jackson AU... Read it or not, it's up to you.
1. Chapter 1

_So this idea keeps getting in the way of getting on with the next chapter of my other story so have had to write it down in an attempt to exorcise it... No idea whether or not to continue with it! Guess it may depend on if it's still infesting my brain when I wake up in the morning! Let me know what you think of it :) x_

_As ever I don't own anything to do with Emmerdale and associated characters... If I did Aaron and Jackson's world would be a much nicer place. Possibly with rainbows and unicorns._

**Life Rewritten**

With a sigh of relief, Jackson Walsh pulled up outside the last in the little row of cottages, switched off the car's engine and pulled the key out of the ignition with a flourish. He didn't think he'd ever been happier to arrive somewhere as he was right now, it would be a long time before he trusted that sat nav again. You wouldn't have thought it would be so difficult to get from Leeds to this sleepy little village, but he could've driven to the moon and back in the time it had taken to get here. Of course it was probably perfectly simple if a poxy electronic gizmo didn't insist on making you visit an abandoned sheep farm in the middle of nowhere before taking you up the service road of a minor reservoir for no apparent reason. Still, he was here now and that was the main thing.

Peering out of the windows he was certainly pleased with what he could see of Emmerdale. The warm July sunlight made the pale ochre stone of the buildings glow invitingly, small gardens burst with colourful flowers and foliage, and a soft breeze rustled calmingly through the leaves of the trees dotted around. Yes, this was exactly what he wanted, about as far removed from the bustling crowds of the city as it was possible to get. So far he liked the look of his new home very much, hopefully the people would be friendly and he wouldn't end up stuck in a wicker man on the village green.

Unclipping the locks that kept his wheelchair firmly attached to the floor of the vehicle, he manoeuvred backwards to slide open the side door with practised ease, pressed the button to extend the ramp and whizzed down it to the footpath outside. A quick press of the key fob automatically retracted the ramp, closed the sliding door and locked up the car safe and sound. He had officially arrived.

Looking up at the building in front of him he smiled. Dale Head. The pictures his business partner had shown him didn't really do it justice, it was lovely. Admittedly, after the grotty little bungalow in Beeston he'd been stuck in for the past few years, almost anything would seem lovely, but this really was nice. He probably should've come to see it before buying the place, but the firm had been so busy at the time and he trusted David's judgement implicitly. And of course he also trusted the builders who'd spent the last month or so gutting the place and making it wheelchair friendly… Doing up your boss's house always encouraged people to do their best work after all!

Tingling with excitement he rolled up to the front door and unlocked it with the keys he'd been given, before pushing it open. Wheeling himself inside, he came face to face with a pile boxes in the living room doorway and groaned. Apparently whilst he could trust his own people, the same couldn't be said of the movers he'd employed to shift his stuff. They were supposed to make sure that there was enough space for him to move his chair around the room, but instead they'd just dumped everything in the first spot they'd come to, and in doing so had effectively walled him out of the house. Great! Now he was going to have to move half of it outside before he could even get in to start unpacking.

In the end it took the best part of an hour to shift enough of the boxes out onto the grass so that he could get into the house properly, arrange the remaining cartons so that he could move around enough to unpack, and to bring everything back in from outside. Now he remembered why he hated moving house so much! He was just thankful that the furniture had been put in the correct places, moving the heavy sofa on his own would've been difficult even if his legs worked properly.

Another few hours saw the kitchen and the living room sorted and Jackson was thoroughly sick of cardboard and packing pellets and bubble wrap. The thought of heading upstairs to tackle the bedroom and bathroom was totally unappealing; all he wanted now was something to eat and to stretch out in front of the telly. Of course there was no food in the house and he was too tired to go anywhere to get some so that left ordering takeaway… He hoped to god that he could get something or other delivered out here.

In the end it hadn't been too difficult to get hold of a decent pizza, the town of Hotten was only three or four miles away and a quick flick through the yellow pages had provided a surprising choice of restaurants that would deliver to Emmerdale. Lying on the couch, stuffed full of cheese and pepperoni, the long day he'd had caught up with him and he drifted contentedly off to sleep.

-x-x-

To say that Jackson wasn't in the best of moods would be an understatement. The morning had started off just before quarter past six when he'd woken up with a major crick in his neck from falling asleep on the sofa, still feeling worn out for the exertions of the previous evening. Getting back to sleep had been impossible due to the bright golden sunlight flooding in through the windows. He had desperately wanted a shower but then remembered that he hadn't unpacked his clothes or bathroom stuff yet and cursed himself for not doing that first. He'd also been starving but had had to make do with the couple of slices of cold pizza that were left over from last night's tea.

The meagre breakfast had been enough to get him going though, and he'd got to try out the stair lift which thankfully worked fine. Unfortunately upon reaching the landing he'd discovered that his spare wheelchair was nowhere in sight, despite the specific instructions he'd given the blasted movers to leave it within reach at the top of the stairs. He ended up having to drag himself around before finding the chair in a corner of the bedroom. It hadn't taken long to pull himself up onto the bed and then across into the chair, but by then he didn't just want a shower, he needed one as well.

He'd briefly admired the quality of the bathroom and made a note to compliment the team that had worked on it. Then he'd found that there was no hot water and had had to go back downstairs to sort the boiler out. That task accomplished he'd realised he'd have to wait for the water to heat up so had made use of the time to do the unpacking in the bedroom before having his shower.

It was now nearly half nine and he should be on his way into town to get a proper breakfast before heading to the supermarket to stock up, but instead he was sat in his car feeling like he might cry. Turning the key again he listened forlornly to the engine turning over and completely failing to start. He'd checked that the fuel gauge showed he still had petrol, and that the battery light wasn't blinking a warning or anything, but that was about the extent of his skills when it came to fixing cars. It was really beginning to feel like he should never have moved here!

A knock at the window pulled him from his misery and he looked out to see an elderly woman smiling in at him flapping a hand to indicate he should roll the window down. He'd no sooner pressed the button to lower the glass when she was off.

"Good morning! You must be the young man who's moved into Dale Head? I'm Pearl, Pearl Ladderbanks. We're practically neighbours... I live just across the way in Jacob's Fold. If you need someone to show you round the village I'd be more than happy... You've got the vets at the top of the road here, I'm the receptionist there you know? Do you have any pets? Paddy and Rhona are the vets, lovely, lovely people. Then you've got the café and the shop on the corner, and The Woolpack just there... That's the local, you should stop in this evening, I'll introduce you to everyone! Oh and of course there's the church just there, and there's a little playground around the back – I don't know if you have any young ones?"

"Err..." Jackson replied, slightly stunned "Er yeah, I've just moved in. Jackson, Jackson Walsh... Nice to meet you Ms Ladderbanks." he said offering a hand through the window.

"Ooo it warms my heart to meet a young man with such good manners!" the elderly lady enthused shaking the offered hand warmly "But you must call me Pearl, Ms Ladderbanks makes me sound positively old!"

"Oh... Right you are then Pearl." there really wasn't much else he thought he could say to that.

"That's better!" she smiled "Having problems with your car are you?"

"Yeah. Just doesn't seem to want to start. Not what I need this morning!" Jackson sighed.

"Well you're lucky you live where you do now then really aren't you?" Pearl laughed.

"Come again?" he asked in confusion.

"It's lucky you live next door to the garage! Don't tell me you didn't realise?"

"I've not had a chance to look round... There's really a garage next door?" he double checked thinking that maybe he wasn't completely out of luck after all.

"Oh yes! Well known for being the best mechanics for miles... Even if they're also the only mechanics for miles come to think of it. You get yourself up there and they'll soon see you right! Ask for Aaron, he's the owner, tell him I sent you and I'm sure he'll jump to it! And don't let him put you off, he can be a bit...grumpy shall we say, but he's got a heart of gold under all that grease, no matter what some folk may tell you!"

"PEARL!" a loud voice echoed down the road "Aren't you supposed to be in work?"

Looking up the hill Jackson saw a large man in glasses standing outside the shop that Pearl had waved at earlier.

"Oh! Yes Paddy! I'm just on my way!" the older woman shouted back nearly deafening the man in the vehicle next to her "Best be off love! Good luck getting your car fixed! And don't forget I'll be expecting to see you in the pub later on!" she threw through the window before hurrying off up the street.

Well at least the natives seem friendly Jackson thought as he watched her scurrying after the person who he assumed was her boss, unless there was more than one Paddy in the village. The woman certainly was a character! Very... Chatty. It was nice of her to stop and introduce herself though, and lucky too or he could've ended up paying through the nose for someone to come out and look at his car when all he needed to do was pop round the corner!

Unfastening his seatbelt and the floor clamps he got himself out of the car and locked it carefully behind him, not that it was going anywhere. As he made his way to the corner of his house he couldn't believe that he hadn't spotted the bright white and black sign that read 'Emmerdale Garage - A. Livesy – Mechanic' attached to the wall of the building on the other side of the gravel driveway.

Turning up the slope Jackson could see the garage tucked away under some large trees at the end of the drive, another of those signs above the open doors. He'd expected something more than a little ramshackle given that it was hidden away from the road in a small village, but casting a professional eye of the smart little wooden and stone building, it gave every appearance of being a respectable operation. He guessed from the long row of neatly parked cars off to one side of the forecourt that business must be good, and wondered if maybe Pearl hadn't just been exaggerating the reputation of the place.

Wheels crunching over the white gravel, he headed towards a figure he could see bending over the open engine of a small hatchback.

"Err... Excuse me." he called out, coming to a stop a few metres away.

The mechanic stood and turned towards him and Jackson felt like someone had punched him in the stomach, all the air seeming to rush out of his lungs as he looked into sparkling blue eyes. The guy was freaking gorgeous! Probably slightly younger, shaven head, dark stubble, strong jaw, broad shoulders... And those eyes... He thought that he could quite happily drown in them... Assuming he would ever think anything that cheesy he hurriedly added to himself.

He felt his heart clench, palms start to sweat and the hair on the back of his neck stand on end and cursed his body for reacting this way now of all times. It had been so long since he'd had this feeling on meeting someone that he'd almost forgotten what it felt like, and now it was happening over the quite obviously straight guy who worked right outside his window. Fantastic. He'd never get any work done now.

The younger man was looking at him oddly which was hardly surprising given that he was probably gawping at him like a complete moron.

"Urm... Can I help ya with something?" the mechanic said breaking the suddenly awkward silence.

"Oh! Yes, I hope so." Jackson replied, making an effort to drag his mind back to why he was there "I was looking to speak to the owner if he's around?"

"What you wanting him for?" came a suspicious response.

"I just moved in next door." the older man answered with a nod towards Dale Head "My car won't start and err... Pearl told me to come up 'ere and to ask for Aaron to come take a look at it."

"Pearl sent ya and told ya specifically to ask for Aaron?" the mechanic asked with a scowl.

"Urr.. Yeah." Jackson confirmed, slightly taken aback by the the annoyed look on the other man's face.

"That woman... Well I suppose I'd best do as I'm told or I'll never hear the end of it." the younger man muttered resignedly as he started towards the road.

"You're Aaron?"

"Looks that way." Aaron replied looking over his shoulder at where Jackson sat staring after him "Something wrong with that?"

"I thought you'd be... I dunno... Older."

"Well I will be if ya don't get a move on!" the mechanic smirked.

The older man laughed at that and set himself to rolling down the slope. Reaching the car Aaron told him to get in and pop the bonnet, and soon the mechanic was fiddling away, asking him to try the engine every now and again.

"Looks like it's yer spark plugs." the younger man stated after a couple of minutes "I've got some in stock that'll do for ya."

"Okay... When do you think you might be able to fit me in?" Jackson sighed, giving up all hope of getting his shopping done today.

The mechanic frowned at him "It'll only take me a few minutes. Thought I might do it now seeing as I'm guessing you've got somewhere yer wanting to be!"

"Oh! That'd be great if ya could! I really need to run into town to do some shopping before I starve to death!"

"I'll get a move on in that case, can't 'ave corpses lying about the place... Bad for business ya know?" Aaron said with a wink.

True to his word the mechanic had the engine running smoothly again in less than quarter of an hour.

"Thank you so much!" Jackson exclaimed "What do I owe ya?"

"Call it a tenner?" the younger man answered.

"A tenner? Are you sure yer a mechanic? The last place I took it to charged me more than twice that just for putting air in the tires!"

"Well the plugs only cost a tenner..." Aaron shrugged.

"What about labour? I can't let you 'elp me out fer free!"

"If Pearl finds out I charged ya for ten minutes work there'll never be another lemon drizzle cake with my name on it! It ain't worth it mate!" the mechanic laughed "If it's that important to ya, you can get me a pint next time you see me in the pub."

"Okay... Make it a couple of pints at least and it's a deal! Pearl actually invited me to go tonight if you're gunna be there?" the older man asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"I might see my way clear to turning up at around eightish given that there's free drinks on offer." Aaron replied with a lopsided grin that made Jackson's mouth go dry.

-x-x-

Jackson buttoned up his favourite red and white chequered shirt and gave himself a quick once over in the mirror. He had no idea why he was making such an effort to look nice... Or, more precisely, he knew why he was making the effort, he just had no idea why he was going to all this trouble when there was no point to it. Yes Aaron was fit, and funny and seemed like a nice guy... But he was a fit, funny, nice _straight_ guy for gods sake! Drooling all over him was a recipe for disaster if ever there was one. He'd had enough violence to last him a life time. In fact that was the very reason he'd moved here from Leeds, the last thing he needed to do was fall for someone that would more than likely knock his block off if he tried anything! And yet here he was tarting himself up for a few drinks in the local pub...

He sighed sadly at his reflection. He wasn't bad looking but it had been an age since anyone in a bar or club had paid him much attention, and he knew perfectly well why. Hardly anyone ever looked further than the chair. Or even worse as far as he was concerned at least, were the few people who were only interested in him _because_ of the chair... Some sort of fetish he supposed; not something that he wanted to be involved in. So this apparently was what he was reduced to, secretly dreaming about some good looking guy he couldn't have. It was like being back at school or something.

Glancing at his watch he decided that he really should get going or he might chicken out entirely. He was finding the prospect of wandering alone into an unfamiliar country pub extremely nerve wracking. It suddenly seemed like an really bad idea moving to small village... What if everyone hated him? Groaning he made his way to the stair lift and down to the little hallway by the front door. Grabbing his keys he let himself out and locked up, then set off up the road.

It was a pleasantly warm twilit evening, birds were twittering in the trees as they settled down for the night, and somewhere out in the fields a fox barked. Jackson reached the pub and came to a halt before the front door. Steps. Three of them. Wonderful.

He sat there staring for a couple of minutes but the situation was hopeless. The steps were too high and shallow for his chair to get up even if there'd been someone around to help him. Someone would have to carry him up them which he wasn't about to let happen. It was bad enough when his mates had had to do it, there was no way he was going to allow a total stranger to pick him up like that. What an amazing waste of time this had all turned out to be.

"Problems?" a familiar voice came from behind him.

Turning he found Aaron standing a few paces away watching him with his hands stuck in his pockets.

"Yeah you could say that." Jackson answered bitterly.

"Need a hand?" the mechanic asked quietly.

"Nah, I think I'm just gunna head home... You might have to wait until they think to put in a ramp before I can get you those drinks."

Even in the dim light he could see Aaron roll his eyes at him.

"Don't be such an old woman." the younger man snorted, moving forward to place his hands on the arms of the wheelchair before pushing it backwards to the foot of the steps.

"What're ya doing?" Jackson exclaimed.

"Helping." the mechanic replied simply "Now put yer arms around my neck."

"What? No!"

Aaron sighed and looked him straight in the eyes "Look mate... You're expected. If you don't turn up and join in then everyone in there'll be outside yer house later with pitchforks and flaming torches."

Jackson's eyes widened in shock.

"That was a joke you div!" the younger man shook his head with an amused grin.

"Has anyone told you that you're really not funny?"

"Erm... Yeah, pretty much everyone. Now shut up and put yer arms round my neck like I told ya to or you'll be going in over me shoulder!"

"You wouldn't?" the older man squeaked.

Aaron just raised an eyebrow challengingly.

Swallowing hard Jackson did as he was told. The worst part was that he was really, really enjoying this little exchange when he knew that he should be annoyed by it. There was just something about the mechanic that struck a chord inside him... They'd only met that afternoon yet the verbal sparring felt so totally natural and easy... And he didn't want to think about how it felt to have his arms wrapped around Aaron's neck!

"Use yer arms to take your weight and I'll get us up the stairs okay?" the mechanic said looking down at him.

The older man nodded and took the strain, feeling Aaron lift the chair as he pulled himself up, then there were a few quick, awkward shuffling steps and then he was being lowered and, blinking in surprise, he found that he and his wheelchair were right by the door to the Woolpack.

It took Jackson a few seconds to realise that he was still clinging to the mechanic and that the younger man didn't appear to mind. In fact Aaron was staring at him intently in a way that he thought he recognised as the expression that someone got just before they were about to kiss you... But that was just wishful thinking surely? He let his arms drop away but Aaron didn't move, he stayed exactly where he was, slightly bent over, hands resting on the armrests of the chair, head so close to Jackson's that the older man could feel warm minty breath gently blowing across his face, dilated blue eyes gazing heatedly into his own brown ones...

Somewhere away in the village a door slammed, loud in the quietness of the night. Aaron straightened up at the sudden sound and ran a hand over his short spiky hair. Stepping around Jackson the mechanic pushed open the door to the pub and disappeared inside leaving the older man sat at the top of the steps staring after him.

"What the hell was that?" Jackson murmured to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry it's been so long since I posted anything, the writer's block has set in with avengeance. I'm not sure whether this is any good or not I'm afraid! Either way here's part 2..._

Aaron sat in a corner with Adam, Mia and Victoria. He was doing his best to pay attention to the conversation going on between his friends, but tonight the pub contained something much more interesting than a discussion on plans for improving the B&B.

It had been proving difficult to keep his eyes off him ever since he'd come through the door. In fact he hadn't been able to stop thinking about Jackson Walsh ever since he'd turned round that afternoon to find himself confronted by what he could only describe as sex on legs... Or wheels in this case. A little older he guessed, unruly brown hair, eyes the colour of molten chocolate, a mouth made for smiling, and a clinging t-shirt that bulged in all the right places.

He wasn't used to the sudden rush he'd felt as he stared stupidly at the man. Yeah he'd seen hot guys before, plenty in fact, but they were usually in bars or clubs, they didn't turn up on his doorstep. And even then he'd never felt this... This... Whatever this was. He thought he'd done very well not to drop his socket wrench on his foot.

After that he wasn't a hundred percent sure what had happened. He knew that he'd panicked slightly, worried that the fact that he was practically drooling over the guy wouldn't go unnoticed, and his mouth had just kind of gone on automatic. Normally that was a disaster waiting to happen, but he knew he'd somehow managed to make Jackson laugh which was probably a good thing... Unless he'd said something idiotic which wasn't beyond the realms of possibility, not by a long shot. Whatever it was though, he remembered that the man had a nice laugh... Very genuine and infectious. It made him feel good just hearing it.

By the time he'd fixed the car his head had cleared a bit, the bonnet providing a much needed shield between himself and Jackson. It had sunk in that someone he quite blatantly fancied a whole hell of a lot had moved to the village. A very obviously straight someone unfortunately. As much as he might want to, he couldn't afford to get pally with the guy. It was bad enough that he'd most likely have to see him every day, if he started socialising with him then chances were it'd only be a matter of time before he did something stupid, and then everyone would find out what he was. Still, all he needed was to get paid and then he could run back to the garage and ignore the man completely, end of.

Apparently it wasn't going to be that easy though. Before he knew what he was doing he'd basically agreed to have a drink with him and even arranged it for that night. He really, really needed to figure out how to stop his mouth running off on it's own, although given he'd so far spent twenty five years failing to learn that skill, he didn't rate the odds of getting a handle on it any time soon very highly.

However it all happened, eight o'clock found him mooching down to the Woolpack dressed in his nicest grey jeans, which a guy in a bar had once said made his bum look very biteable, together with a blue short-sleeved shirt that his mam had told him brought out the colour of his eyes, and that Victoria said made his biceps look 'All wow!' apparently. He refused to examine the reasons he'd picked out those particular clothes too closely.

When he'd reached the pub he'd found Jackson outside looking up at the front door. Even from behind it was quite clear that the man was upset or annoyed, the aura of tension surrounding him palpable in the still evening air. Aaron had frowned at the set of steps leading to the door, wondering how long Jackson had been stuck waiting around. He'd assumed that Pearl had organised something or other to get the wheelchair and its occupant into the building, given that she was the one who had invited him out. The woman was usually so into other people's business that you might mistake her for being psychic sometimes, but apparently she'd dropped the ball on this one for some reason.

It had taken a bit of persuasion to stop a pissed off Jackson going home... Well, persuasion was the wrong word really. He'd pretty much bullied the man into it, making out that he didn't have much choice in the matter. If it had been anyone else he'd ever met then he wouldn't have bothered, he would've just let them bugger off without even a backward glance, but Jackson... That thing he felt when he looked at him wouldn't allow him to let the bloke just disappear off into the night, even though it'd no doubt be for the best. Getting a crush on the straight next door neighbour was something he really didn't need. Apparently he had a masochistic streak that he hadn't been aware of.

And then strong arms had wrapped themselves around him and for a few seconds he'd forgotten everything, even how to breathe. All he seemed to be able to focus on was the sensation of warm skin against his neck and the sight of rich brown eyes gazing into his own. It had been a wrench to get his mind back on the task in hand, but they couldn't very well stay that way all night, much as Aaron might've liked to. A bit of effort, a couple of staggering steps and it was done. Possibly not the most elegant of manoeuvres but undeniably effective. Jackson was safely at the door.

There had only been one problem. He didn't seem to be able to move. For a moment he thought maybe he'd put his back out like some decrepit old man, but then he realised that the issue wasn't physical, it was mental. He simply didn't want to budge. No... Actually he did... He wanted to move a mere few centimetres forward, just the distance between Jackson's lips and his own in fact. The urge was so strong that even when the other man's arms had released him he wavered there, one half of his mind screaming at him to lean forward, the other half just as loudly protesting that what he was contemplating was insane, that going around kissing strange men on the doorstep of his local was utter madness given the circumstances.

The sound of a door slamming somewhere nearby shattered whatever spell had been holding him captive and he'd suddenly found that he could move again. Straightening up he'd hoped that the dimness of the evening hid the embarrassment he knew was staining his cheeks, and then he was through the door and safely on his way to the bar, needing to put some distance between himself and the older man. Bob had pulled him a pint in record time and he was just settling down at his mates' table when Jackson had edged his way into the room.

It hadn't taken long for people to turn and stare at the unfamiliar man, conversations running down leaving a very uncomfortable looking Jackson the centre of attention. Aaron glanced at Pearl, expecting her to leap up and take charge which had clearly been one of the old busy-body's main motives behind her invite, but the woman was looking just as surprised as everyone else. It dawned on him that somehow she hadn't known that Jackson was in a wheelchair which would account for the earlier matter of the pub steps. She must be losing her touch he thought with a smirk as he took a sip of his pint.

Pearl had quickly recovered from her shock though and was soon in full mother hen mode, fussing around Jackson, taking him to the bar to get a drink and introducing him to anyone that fell under her eye. The man had better have a good memory for names and faces given that he was likely to meet pretty much the entire village in the next hour.

"Stop staring, it's rude!" Victoria interrupted his apparently not so surreptitious observation of the older man.

"Ya what?" Aaron snapped, flustered at having been caught.

"I said stop staring at him. It's just a wheelchair, you have seen them before you know?" his friend replied.

The mechanic was relieved the she assumed that that was the reason he was looking at Jackson, though also annoyed by that same assumption. As if he cared whether someone was in a wheelchair or not. He knew better than anyone that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. Unable to come up with a response that reconciled his conflicting emotions he settled on giving a shrug and turning back to his beer.

Victoria rolled her eyes at him "Anyway, you're supposed to be helping us!"

"What the 'eck do I know about wallpaper patterns?" Aaron protested.

Mia snorted "If you'd been listening you'd know that we're talking about carpet samples actually." the redhead said wryly causing the mechanic to groan and throw his head back to stare at the ceiling.

"Be thankful you don't 'ave to live with 'em mate!" Adam laughed "I get this twenty four seven!"

Both women smacked him round the back of the head.

"Err... You married her," Aaron nodded at Mia "You've only got yerself to blame!"

"I didn't count on getting stuck with that one too!" the farmer exclaimed pointing at Victoria which earned him a sharp elbow in the ribs for his trouble.

"You know that girls always travel in packs!" the mechanic grinned.

"Like you'd know!" Mia retorted "When was the last time you had a girlfriend?"

"I do alright for meself thanks. Don't want to get tied down!" Aaron answered, covering his discomfort by taking a gulp from his pint.

"He's just holding out for me to make an honest man out of him!" Victoria smirked.

The mechanic choked on his drink causing his friends to burst out laughing as he scowled at them, wiping lager from his chin.

"Excuse me!" Pearl interjected excitedly as she suddenly appeared beside the table "I don't mean to interrupt-"

"Yeah you do." Aaron muttered under his breath.

"Now now! No need to take that tone with me young man, just because your friends are making fun of you again!" the elderly lady chided.

"Sorry Pearl." the mechanic mumbled automatically as Adam sniggered to himself across the table.

"That's better... Now I just wanted to introduce everyone to the newest resident of the village... This is Jackman Walsh-"

"Jackson." both Aaron and Jackson said together.

"I keep doing that..." Pearl frowned "Jackson this is Victoria and Mia, they run the bed and breakfast, so they're the people to see if you have friends or family needing somewhere nice to stay when they come to visit. And this is Mia's husband Adam... He works up at Butler's Farm – you met his mum and dad and sister just over there remember, Moira, John and Hannah. And of course you know Aaron already."

"Alright?" Jackson asked brightly as he shook hands with everyone apart from Aaron who got a nod and a slightly curious look instead.

"Yeah mate." Adam replied "How're you finding it so far? Settling in okay?"

"Once I'd sorted out the mess the movers left it's been good. Everyone's been really friendly so far." the older man answered.

"Even Aaron?" Victoria exclaimed in mock surprise.

"Oi!" the mechanic growled at her.

Jackson laughed "Yeah, he fixed my car and saved me from starving to death actually. I'll get you that pint I owe you in a minute." he said turning to the younger man.

"No rush." Aaron responded quietly indicating his half full glass. He was having trouble working out what the guy was thinking... He couldn't believe that Jackson wasn't freaked by his behaviour earlier, but apart from the puzzled glance he'd given him when Pearl had brought him over, the older man hadn't given any indication of being weirded out or anything. Maybe Jackson just figured that he'd been winded by carrying him and his chair up the steps and that he'd just been leaning over him like that whilst catching his breath? He couldn't think of any other explanation, unless he simply hadn't noticed...

"Ooo! You must come and meet Alan and Ashley!" Pearl announced moving off.

The group gave Jackson a sympathetic look as he sighed ruefully before wheeling himself away in pursuit of the older woman.

"He seems okay." Adam said watching the man in the wheelchair continue his crash course in Emmerdale residents "Wonder what brings 'im to the village... You any idea Aaron?"

"You're asking him?" Mia said incredulously "He barely knows what's going on in his own life let alone anyone else's!"

"Hey! Just 'cause I'm not a gossip like the rest of you's! Just ask 'im yerself if you want to know!" the mechanic snapped back.

"Oh we will, don't you worry about that! And stop trying to pretend you ain't just as interested as the rest of us, it's written all over your face!" Victoria smiled.

Aaron scowled at her which only made her grin widen. There wasn't a lot he could say. He _was_ interested in what had brought Jackson to Emmerdale, along with wanting to know everything else about the man. He should really go home right now before it got even worse, but he knew that he wasn't going anywhere. He downed the rest of his pint as his friends returned to talking about interior design. Hopefully Jackson might notice his empty glass and turn up soon with a fresh one...

A few minutes later and Pearl had exhausted the supply of people for Jackson to meet and was shepherding him back towards the table that she occupied with Betty and Edna. Aaron almost laughed at the look of desperation the older man threw his way as he went past. Clearly an evening spent with the local grannies was about as appealing to Jackson as it was to the rest of the younger population of the village. Taking pity the mechanic waggled his empty glass and received an understanding nod of gratitude.

"Err Pearl... I'm just going to get Aaron the pint I promised him for fixing my car if that's okay?"

"Oh... Oh of course love! I'll be just over there if you need anything!" the elderly woman waved over at her seat.

"Cheers Pearl!" Jackson grinned as he made his way to the bar to order the drinks.

"That was nice of ya. Coming to the rescue and all..." Victoria whispered to Aaron "Are you feeling alright?"

"Ha ha, very funny Vic." the mechanic replied, sticking his tongue out at the younger woman "I'd've done the same for you."

"No you wouldn't!" she scoffed.

"Yeah you're right, I wouldn't!" he laughed back getting a giggle from Mia and a snort form Adam.

Just then Jackson arrived at the table followed by Bob carrying a tray of drinks.

"Here you go ladies and gents!" the barman announced as he distributed glasses "Three lagers for the lads, a dry white wine for the beautiful Mrs Barton and a vodka tonic for the lovely Miss Sugden. Enjoy!"

"Aww nice one!" Adam enthused, chugging down the remains of his current beer before taking a hearty gulp of the fresh one.

"Cheers Jackson!" Mia and Victoria echoed, raising their glasses to the older man.

"Yeah thanks... Though I dunno what this lot've done to deserve a free drink!" Aaron frowned at his mates.

"Well I heard that buying people alcohol's a good way of bribing them into being your friend!" Jackson replied with a chuckle.

"Too right it is! I'm feeling much friendlier already!" Victoria said with a wink.

"You're practically on a promise there mate!" Adam exclaimed "Best watch out that Aaron doesn't get jealous!"

"Shut up Adam!" both the mechanic and Victoria yelled at the same time.

"You two together then?" Jackson asked curiously.

"God no!" the brown haired woman grimaced "I do have standard thanks!"

Under the table Aaron clenched his fists in annoyance. He should've known this would happen. His mates were making him sound like a complete muppet. To be honest that was generally how their group worked - more often than not he'd end up being the butt of most of the jokes, and normally he could take it, it was just... He really didn't want Jackson thinking he was some saddo. He knew that it didn't matter what the older man thought of him, but he couldn't help it. There wasn't really anything he could do about it though. If he lost his temper and had a go at them or stormed off, it wouldn't make for a good impression, plus it would raise questions about what had set him off, questions he didn't want to answer. He'd just have to resign himself to being made fun of.

Thankfully it turned out that he only had to put up with a couple more minutes of good natured ribbing about his suitability, or lack thereof, as potential boyfriend material. Adam, quite possibly noticing his lack of enthusiasm for the conversation, turned the chatter towards more sensible topics.

"So Jackson, what brings you to Emmerdale?" the farmer asked.

"Peace and quiet mainly!" the older man answered.

"Oh aye? Were you living it up before then?" Mia probed.

"Hardly!" Jackson replied with a grin "I lived in Leeds for the last few years, but being in the city just got to be... A bit much for me. I used to live just outside Hotten until about six or seven years ago so thought I'd try and find something close to where I grew up. Dale Head was on the market so here I am."

"God... Whatever could've lured you away from the bright lights of Hotten to go live in Leeds?" Adam laughed.

"I err... It was 'cause of me accident actually." the older man replied.

"Sorry..." the farmer winced at the fact that he'd he seemed to have put his foot in it.

"Not to worry, it was a long time ago really." Jackson reassured.

"What happened?" Victoria asked leaning forward sensing gossip.

"Vic!" Mia hissed warningly at her friend who looked suitably contrite.

Jackson smiled at the younger woman "It's okay, someone always asks sooner or later... Believe it or not I was hit by a train. Or at least the van I was driving was hit by a train with me in it."

"No way!" Adam gasped in awe.

"Yeah... I Smashed through a fence next to a level crossing, rolled down a bit of embankment onto the tracks and then BANG! Next thing I knew I was waking up in hospital two weeks later. Doctors said I'd be paralysed from the neck down for the rest of me life, but then one day I managed to move a finger and they sent me to this clinic in Leeds that specialises in spinal injuries and physio. Spent a bit over a year there. It were absolutely horrible... Bit like being stuck in a concentration camp run by the most sadistic PE teachers ever born! I should be thankful though, they got me to where I am today. I stayed in Leeds after that and set up in business with a friend who lives there."

"What is it you do?" Aaron asked.

"It's a building firm... I used to a be a builder before so it made sense to stick with what I know. Obviously I'm not carting bags of cement and bricks up ladders or anything any more, I do the quotes and logistics and payroll and all the exciting paperwork! I guess contractor's probably the best term for it. Keeps me out of trouble. That's why I could move out here... I can do my job from home by phone and email and fax, my partner David deals with all the on site stuff."

"We were thinking of having a few alterations made to the B&B!" Mia said excitedly "Maybe you could take a look and let us know what you think?"

"Urm... Yeah sure-" Jackson started to say.

"Great! I'll go get the designs!" the redhead interrupted jumping to her feet.

"MIA!" Aaron snapped at her before she could run off.

"What?" she asked with a frown.

"Couldn't it wait?" the mechanic asked "Jackson might want to have nice _relaxing_ evening in the pub without having to do any work..."

"Oh... Sorry!" Mia apologised "I err tend to get a bit carried away!"

"No problem. I'm free about half eleven tomorrow if that's any good to ya?" the contractor asked.

"Cool! I'll be there! Well I guess I'll go get us another round seeing as I'm up. Adam, come help me."

"Thanks!" Jackson murmured to Aaron as the couple made their way to the bar "Whenever anyone hears what it is I do all I get is 'I've got a little job that needs doing.'... Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to get the work, I'd just be nice if they could come talk to me about it during office hours!"

"Tell me about it!" Aaron snorted quietly in response "I've only go to mention that I'm a mechanic to be surrounded by people whose cars are making a funny noise and wanting to know what the problem is then and there!"

"What are you two whispering about?" Victoria asked suspiciously.

"Nothing." the mechanic smirked and he and Jackson gave each other a look.

Mia and Adam returned with the drinks to find the two men animatedly swapping stories about unreasonable clients and funny situations that they'd encountered at work. Victoria sat watching them with a bemused expression on her face.

"What's up?" the farmer asked her as he dropped back into his chair.

"It's Aaron… He's acting… Weird…" she answered.

Adam watched his friend waving his hands about as he told Jackson something or other that caused the two of them to burst out laughing, oblivious to their audience.

"He's having a good time, what's the problem?"

"Don't you think that's weird? He's never this cheerful, especially round strangers…"

"Just leave 'im be, I kinda like 'im this way!"

The rest of the evening passed in much the same way - alcohol, conversation and laughter, with much of the latter two going on between Aaron and Jackson whilst Adam, Mia and Victoria talked mainly amongst themselves.

Aaron could hardly believe it when the bell rang for last orders; he would've sworn he hadn't been in the pub for more than an hour and a half at most. He even checked his phone to make sure someone wasn't having a laugh, but it was quite definitely kicking out time. Climbing to his feet he guessed he'd had more to drink than he'd thought as he was feeling a tad unsteady. He felt good though, it'd been a really great night. Glancing at Jackson he knew that he was in trouble. Despite telling himself repeatedly to keep his distance, he'd spent pretty much the whole evening talking to the man and he now liked him even more than ever. Before it had just been a physical attraction, but now… Well Jackson was funny and smart and nice and being around him felt so, so good… He was most definitely screwed. And not in the good sense of the word.

"Where're're the others?" the older man slurred slightly looking around for Victoria, Adam and Mia.

"Err… They left. About twenty minutes agogago I think… You're is drunk ya lightweight!" Aaron sniggered as they wove erratically towards the door.

"Hah! I'm sobererer… Sobererer… I'm more soberer than you are!" Jackson giggled back as the left the pub "Ooooooo look it's those steps again only someone's turned 'em round so they're going down not up!"

"You want me to carry you again?" the mechanic asked, trying not to sound too hopeful as he remembered how it felt to have the older man's arms wrapped around his neck.

"Nah! Going down is easy!" the contractor exclaimed as he leant back, tipping his chair up on the two back wheels before rolling forward to bounce down the steps shouting "Weeeeeeee!" as he went.

"Watch yerself there Evel Knievel!" Aaron laughed as followed more carefully.

Reaching the road the two men stopped and looked at each other in the moonlight. Aaron didn't think he'd seen anything more beautiful than Jackson's face smiling up at him in the soft silvery glow, and again he felt that almost irresistible urge to lean forward and kiss him. 'I _really_ need to go home!' he thought to himself.

"You err fancy coming back to mine for a can or two?" the older man asked him before he had a chance to make his excuses.

"Don't ya think we've 'ad enough for one night?" the mechanic replied. He desperately hoped Jackson would agree and turn away because he didn't think he had the will to put up much resistance to the offer to spend more time with him. In his current state he was pretty sure that he'd do something he'd seriously regret once he sobered up.

"Pfft!" Jackson scoffed "Now who's the lightweight? Are ya really gunna wuss out on me and let me go home and drink me beers all on me own? I'm a gunna report you to Pearl for being unfriendly!"

We he'd tried... Not very hard admittedly but that wasn't the point...

"Lead on then mate! Don't blame me if you've got no alcohol left in the morning though!" Aaron replied.

It only a took a minute for them reach Dale Head, another for Jackson to remember how to unlock the door, and then the mechanic was slumped comfortably on a big squishy sofa with a ice cold can of lager and a guy he was itching to get his hands on sat about a foot away being maliciously hot at him. The older man was chatting away but Aaron wasn't paying any attention. All he could focus on was the motion of those soft looking, beer-moistened lips, picturing them pressing against his own, working their way down his neck and beyond... He couldn't suppress a gasp at the images suddenly rushing through his mind.

Jackson must have heard the sound as he stopped talking and looked curiously at his guest. Aaron's gaze shifted from mouth to eyes and knew that he'd lost the fight. There was nothing he could do to resist those deep cocoa brown pools even if he'd wanted to, which he really, really didn't. Before he knew what he was doing he reached out an arm and drew the older man toward him. Just before their lips met he whispered "Sorry." hoping that Jackson would forgive him for what he was about to do, then closed to final gap and kissed him for all he was worth.

Aaron had been prepared to feel hands shoving him away, maybe followed by a fist connecting with his face, but one thing he hadn't been anticipating was to suddenly have an armful of Jackson kissing him passionately in return. Before he knew what was happening he was flat on his back with the older man on top of him, and the last coherent thought that flashed through his brain before it gave up and just went along for the ride, was that this had turned out to be the best night of his life.


	3. Chapter 3

_Urg! Writing is so hard! :( Will try to update more quickly next time but can't make any promises! Part 3... x_

Jackson awoke and immediately wished that he hadn't. He felt rather unwell and his head was pounding so hard that the blood pulsing through his skull made it feel like he had two heart beats. Absolutely everything seemed to hurt in one way or another. He could swear that even his hair was aching which previously he would've thought impossible.

It was also proving to be a struggle to pry his eyelids apart, someone apparently having thought it'd be funny to glue them shut during the night. When eventually he managed to get one open a crack though, what he saw made no sense... What was the living room fireplace doing in the bedroom? _And_ the coffee table? Had gay burglars broken in and rearranged the furniture whilst he'd been passed out?

His abused brain fizzing fitfully back to life, Jackson groaned as he realised that for the second night in a row he'd ended up falling asleep on the sofa. At this rate he might as well get the bed moved down here. If he got a hose pipe rigged up to the kitchen sink he could just sluice himself down out the back and save himself the trouble of ever having to go upstairs again, an idea that was actually very appealing right now.

Gingerly raising his head he expected a fresh wave of pain to strike, but was surprised to instead feel a reduction in the throbbing in his ears. Puzzled, he lay his head back down and again the steady beat of his heart seemed to double in volume... Most odd indeed. It was then that he suddenly became aware that his sofa cushions felt very different to how he remembered from when he'd woken up on them the previous morning... For example, the way that one of them appeared to be gently cupping his left buttock was unusual to say the least.

Memory finally started to kick in and had Jackson's head snapping upright, eyes widening in shock as he took in just exactly what he'd been lying on... Aaron. The younger man was stretched out under him on the couch and he'd been using his broad, muscular chest as a pillow. No wonder it'd felt like he had two heart beats when he'd woken up!

Fragmented images of the previous night cascaded through his mind… Aaron gazing into his eyes at the top of the Woolpack steps; laughing and joking with the younger man inside the pub as many, many drinks were consumed; the mechanic looking stunningly beautiful as he stood in the road drenched in moonlight; the two of them sat on this very sofa… Kissing. He was sure that there'd been kissing… Unless that bit was a dream? But no, Aaron's lips looked red and swollen, and his own felt distinctly chapped… So, not a dream then...

Panic began to set in. Jackson tried to stop himself trembling as he fought to breathe. Aaron was currently still sleeping peacefully but that would quickly change if someone started hyperventilating and shaking violently on top of him, then who knew what would happen. Trying to keep calm, the contractor looked around for his wheelchair finding it at the end of the sofa where he'd left the night before, but it could've been parked on Mars for all that was worth. There was no way he could get himself into it without waking the mechanic and he really, really did not want to do that.

There were so many nightmarish stories that he'd heard from friends or read in magazines - people getting beaten up or even killed by straight men who'd gotten drunk and fooled around with other guys, only to wake up sober the following morning disgusted by their actions. What if Aaron was one of those men? Jackson could certainly imagine him to be the type… Pearl had made a point of mentioning that he could be 'grumpy', and the night before he'd sensed when the mechanic's mates were poking fun at him that had he a temper, even if he had managed to keep it under control… And he was just so… So… _Straight_! He wasn't sure he'd ever met anyone he could picture being less pleased at having drunkenly snogged another man!

'What the hell have I done?' Jackson thought to himself. He _knew_ that hanging around with Aaron was a bad idea but he'd done it anyway and now he was cornered, helpless. It was only a matter of time before the younger man woke up, and given his condition he wouldn't be able to get away if Aaron turned nasty. As his mind raced with fear, buried memories of laughing faces, of flying fists and feet, and of intense, excruciating pain assaulted him. He tried desperately to suppress the groaning whimper that he could feel rising inside him as the memories poured on, but he may as well have been trying to hold back a herd of stampeding wildebeest with a squirt gun and and a rolled up newspaper.

The choked sob echoed around the silent sitting room, and Jackson lay frozen in horror as Aaron begin to stir beneath him. The younger man let out a rumbling sigh as he flexed his shoulders, his mouth twitching into a smile as he stretched. Jackson felt the hand on his bum squeezing him through his jeans, and Aaron's grin grew wider. Deep blue eyes fluttered open and focused, and for a second or two the mechanic continued to smile, but then his body tensed and the smile melted away to be replaced with a frown as he realised he was groping another guy.

Jackson warily watched the man staring up at him, too terrified to move or speak, preparing for the violence he'd convinced himself was about to come his way. The hand on his backside was removed and he flinched, expecting it to at any moment reconnect with some part of his body, but this time balled into a fist. Instead, Aaron used it to scratch his head as he glanced awkwardly around the room.

"Err… Last night…" the younger man murmured in a sleep roughened voice.

"We were drunk, it didn't mean anything. I won't tell anyone!" Jackson blurted out, praying that the mechanic would let the matter go at that.

Aaron regarded him for an uncomfortable minute, an unreadable expression on his face, the muscles in his jaw clenching and unclenching as he studied the man above him.

"Right." the mechanic muttered flatly, finally tearing his gaze away as a look that Jackson couldn't decipher flashed behind his eyes "I guess I'll be going then."

Gently rolling Jackson off him and onto the sofa proper, Aaron got to his feet, hurried to the front door and out of the house without a backward glance. The contractor sat where he'd been deposited, heart pounding like mad in his chest. He could hardly believe that he was fine, that Aaron had left without laying into him... Maybe he'd judged the younger man too harshly, his fear making him leap to unjustified conclusions as to how the mechanic would react to the situation? Still, who knew how things would've turned out if he'd acted any other way than he had? For all he knew, if he'd done things differently he could be a bloody mess on the floor right now, so he refused to have any regrets. Except for maybe about what had happened last night. Touching a finger to his still tender lips though he couldn't bring himself to regret that either...

-x-x-

'How could you have been so stupid?' Aaron berated himself as he sprinted up the road towards Smithy Cottage and home. As he went he had to rub the back of a hand across his eyes in an attempt to dash away the tears that were threatening to fall. He couldn't believe what a total idiot he was.

Last night had been incredible... He'd kissed Jackson and against all expectation the older man had kissed him right back! He didn't know how long they'd lain on the sofa before falling asleep together, but he knew it had been quite a while. They'd kissed passionately, gently, sweetly and fiercely, there'd been full on snogging and feather-light brushes of lips against lips... Aaron had never felt so good in his entire life. He'd kissed other men before of course, but nothing he'd experienced had prepared him for the searing intensity of what he'd shared with Jackson. It was what he'd always been searching for but had never been able to find until now.

They hadn't done anything other than kiss, Jackson had drifted off to sleep before things could go any further... Not that they would've gone any further if he'd stayed awake mind, Aaron wasn't ready for that. He had no desire to sleep with just any old bloke that came along, god knows he'd had plenty of opportunities before now, but none of them had felt right. But Jackson... Somehow he'd convinced himself that there'd been something there, something special, and as the older man lay draped across him in slumber the mechanic had carefully wrapped his arms around him and allowed himself to dream that maybe, just maybe this could turn out to be it.

It was strange really... He'd never been in this position before, had never fallen asleep with another man. He'd been on dates, sometimes quite a few with the same person, but that sense of wrongness had always prevented him from getting any further than that, and sooner or later whoever he was seeing would lose interest and drift away... He tried not to let it get to him but it was hard. Sometimes his whole life seemed to be one long series of rejections. Still, he supposed that he couldn't blame them, if you were looking for Mr Right Now and you found yourself stuck with someone looking for Mr Right it was only natural that you wouldn't stick around. So yes, it was strange that after knowing Jackson for less than twenty four hours, there he was cradling the sleeping man in his arms having just spent the past X amount of time getting off with him on the sofa. And yet it felt completely and utterly right. Then morning had come and ruined everything.

Waking up had been a revelation. Normally Aaron hated it but today was different. Today he could feel the solid weight of Jackson still lying on top of him, so warm and comfortable that he could quite happily have stayed like that all day. As he stretched slightly things got even better, their bodies rubbing together pleasantly making smile. Slowly becoming more alert the mechanic had discovered that one of his hands was resting on Jackson's arse and he couldn't resist giving it a little squeeze, his grin widening at the feel of firm muscle beneath denim. Opening his eyes he'd felt a thrill to find the older man watching him and he felt so happy that all he could do was smile up at him for the few moments it took him to realise that something was wrong. Jackson didn't look happy in the slightest. In fact Jackson looked positively horrified.

Aaron suddenly felt incredibly awkward. He didn't know what the matter was but clearly something was troubling the older man.

"Err... Last night..." the mechanic started to say. He wasn't good with words but he felt the need to tell Jackson how much he'd enjoyed it… Maybe the man was embarrassed about falling asleep or something? But before he could find the means to express himself, his dreams had been shattered.

"We were drunk, it didn't mean anything. I won't tell anyone!" Jackson blurted out.

Aaron could only stare at him, for a moment unable to understand what he was saying. Once the words finally did register he didn't know what to do. When Jackson had kissed him back he was sure that the older man must be like him, but apparently not... He'd just been so drunk that he didn't know what he was doing. The mechanic had to desperately clench his jaw against the pain stabbing through his heart as he realised that everything he'd thought was wrong. There wasn't going to be any more kissing on the sofa, no dates, no... No anything. He'd made it all up in his head. Jackson was disgusted by what they'd done and just wanted to forget about it.

"Right." Aaron had managed to choke out. He couldn't stay there, couldn't look at Jackson anymore... He wanted him so badly now, and being so close to him and knowing that he couldn't ever have him hurt more than he could bear. "I guess I'll be going then." he'd muttered, gently shifting the older man off him so that he could make a run for it before he broke down.

Bursting into Smithy he made a beeline for his room, quietly closed the door and threw himself onto his bed. He knew that he should've stayed away from Jackson Walsh! Why had he ignored his own instincts? Well he was paying for it now wasn't he? The only consolation was that the contractor had cut him off before he could say anything that would reveal that he was gay... The older man had thankfully just assumed that he, like him, had only allowed the whole thing to happen due to excessive amounts of alcohol. He couldn't believe that he'd convinced himself that Jackson might feel something for him! Trust him to fall for a straight guy...

A tapping at the door interrupted his plans to wallow in misery for the next couple of hours or so. He recognised it as Paddy's worried knock and knew that the vet wouldn't go away until he'd checked to make sure he was okay after staying out all night.

"Yeah." the mechanic called out resignedly.

The door opened and Paddy poked his head into the room.

"You just get back?" the older man asked.

"Yeah." Aaron replied staring fixedly at the ceiling.

"Oh... Did you go into town?"

"Nope."

"So you stayed at Adam's?"

"No."

"Ah right." Paddy said as he dithered in the doorway obviously wanting to know where he'd been but not sure how to ask.

"I stayed at Jackson's." the younger man sighed taking pity on him.

"Jackson? The bloke that's just moved into Dale Head?"

"Yep."

"I see... Err... Urm... Is he... You know?" the vet stammered.

"Is he gay?"

"Err..."

"No, he's not." Aaron ground out.

"Oh."

"And now you want to know why I kipped at his if he's not gay, as though the only _possible_ reason I'd have to stay over with a man I've just met is because I'm going to have sex with him?" the mechanic asked, rolling his head to glare at Paddy.

"I didn't say that!" the older man exclaimed blushing crimson.

"But you _were_ thinking it..."

"I just worry about you is all."

"I'm twenty five Paddy! I can look after meself ya know?"

"I know! It's just... Knowing that doesn't stop me worrying." the vet said with an apologetic shrug.

All the anger drained out of him at Paddy's words. The man could be annoying but he meant well… After all these years the mechanic thought of him as a father and still couldn't figure out why Paddy cared about him so much.

"He invited me back for a few cans and I fell asleep on the sofa." Aaron replied… It was a hundred percent true as far as it went so he told himself it didn't count as lying.

"Oh right! Well that were nice of him!" Paddy exclaimed "Good to see that he's trying to make friends in the village."

"Yeah, t'rrific." the younger man muttered.

"I take it from that enthusiastic response that you don't like him much?"

"He's fine." Aaron sighed, wishing that he didn't like Jackson; life would be ever so much simpler if that were the case.

"That's good then, you could do with more mates!"

The mechanic was about to say something rude to that but was interrupted by the sound of feet pounding up the stairs.

"DAD! Dad! Did you tell him yet?" an excited voice came from the landing.

"Um… Not yet no." Paddy answered looking over his shoulder.

"But dad! You said you would!"

"I know! I've just not got round to it! Be patient!"

"But _daaaaaaaaaaaad_…" the voice whined.

"I still don't see why you don't want me to take ya." Paddy grumbled.

"Because Aaron's _cool_!"

"And I'm not?" the vet exclaimed.

"Of course you're not! You're my _dad_!"

"Right. Yeah. How silly of me." Paddy replied sulkily "Aaron," he said turning to the mechanic "I've been asked to inform ya that it's Saturday."

"Is it? I hadn't realised." Aaron smirked at the older man receiving a glare in return.

The vet jumped slightly as a small boy pushed at his legs so that he could stick his head round the door frame.

"_Aaronnnnnn_! It's Saturday!" the child grinned at him.

"Yeah, yer dad's just told me. So what?" the mechanic replied innocently, ignoring Paddy's groan of exasperation.

"_DAAAAAAAAAAD_!" the boy cried tugging at the vet's trousers and scowling up at his father "Tell him!"

Aaron had to cover his mouth with his hand to stop himself laughing at the scene, the death stare that Paddy was shooting his way having completely the opposite effect to the one intended.

"Aaron?" the vet asked sweetly.

"Yes Patrick?" the younger man answered trying to keep a straight face.

"I believe that Brennan would quite like it if you'd take him to feed the ducks - Ow!" Paddy glared down at his son who'd just elbowed him sharply in the knee "_And_ to the caff for his lunch – OW! Will you stop doing that? _And_ to the garage to play with the cars."

"Is that all?" Aaron raised his eyebrows at the little boy who looked thoughtful for a second before nodding gravely in response.

"Well then of course I'll take ya, dunno why your dad didn't just ask... Gimme half an hour to have a shower and get ready and we'll go down the river. You go get ready too."

"Yaaaaaaaayyy!" Brennan cried as he tore off down the stairs to harass Rhona into finding his wellies and getting him some bread for the ducks.

"Do I really have to go through this every single weekend?" Paddy asked Aaron reproachfully.

"Course not!" the mechanic replied.

"Seriously?" the vet said brightening up.

"Yeah... You could get Rhona to come and ask!" Aaron laughed.

"Remind me why I let you live here again!" Paddy grumbled.

"'Cause if you didn't then you and the missus wouldn't have a guaranteed child-free afternoon to yerselves every week to do... Stuff..." the younger man answered, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh go have yer shower." the vet muttered, blushing "And be warned, if you bring 'im back covered in mud and grease like you did last week Rhona'll make damn sure that you'll never be able to have kids of yer own!" he added as he left the room.

Aaron lay back on his bed and stared in to space for a couple more minutes. He was glad it was Saturday, his favourite day of the week. His kinda pseudo surrogate little step-brother never failed to cheer him up, and he could really do with some of that right now. Pushing Jackson Walsh to the furtherest corner of his mind, he did his best to concentrate on the good things he had in his life rather than on some foolish fantasy that he'd allowed himself to indulge in for an evening. Jumping to his feet he grabbed his stuff and made for the bathroom. There were more important people to think about than himself.


	4. Chapter 4

_Finally finished the next chapter after a truly horrible week! Hope it's not too bad. Thanks to Sam for the continuous prodding and the recent supply of updated stories to cheer me up! x_

After a long, hot shower and a change of clothes Jackson was feeling almost human again. All he needed now was a decent breakfast and he'd be set for a productive day of moping about the house, torturing himself about what had happened between him and Aaron.

It was so unfair! The mechanic was the most attractive man he'd met in years, didn't even seem to notice the wheelchair and also happened to be a phenomenal kisser… Damn the man for getting drunk and giving him a taste of what he might've had if only it weren't for the rather major stumbling block of the guy being straight!

It also occurred to Jackson that he'd more than likely lost Aaron as a friend now, and chances were that along with him went Adam, Mia and Victoria who he'd been getting along well with last night. Seemed like he'd really screwed up and it was only his second full day in the village! The only silver lining in an otherwise very black cloud was that he doubted that Aaron would be mentioning the incident to anyone else. Jackson didn't care if people knew that he was gay, but he could really do without stories circulating of how he'd thrown himself at the first bloke in the village to happen along – rumours that he was some sort of sexual predator were unlikely to make anyone want to be mates with him.

He was just heading towards the kitchen to find something to eat when there was a knock at the front door. Spinning his chair around he made his way over to open it and found Victoria and Mia standing in the porch, both women smiling brightly at him, each carrying an armful of paperwork.

"Morning!" Victoria chirped cheerfully "Sorry we're a bit late! We got caught up with a couple of the guests… Do you still have time to take a look at our plans?"

"Oh… Yeah sure. Come in, make yerselves at home." Jackson replied waving them into the living room. He'd had a nagging feeling all morning that he'd forgotten something and now he knew what it was.

"How're you feeling today?" Mia asked as she herself settled on the sofa "You and Aaron were a bit worse for wear when we left you last night!"

Jackson grimaced at the reminder of the mechanic and the previous evening.

"Err… I feel a lot better now than I did when I woke up, but that's not saying much. Think I need a good fry up or something to sort me out really!"

"Well how about we do this over at the café then? We'll shout you lunch as a thank you for helping us out?" the redhead suggested.

"Don't be silly!" the contractor exclaimed "You don't need to do that! I'm sure I can survive long enough to go through your stuff." but as he finished his stomach gave an almighty rumble that had Victoria and Mia laughing as he blushed in embarrassment.

"Come on, we're going to get you fed and we don't want any arguments!" Mia ordered as they gathered up their files and folders before heading back to the front door.

"Yes ma'am! I feel kinda sorry for Adam all of a sudden!" Jackson chuckled as he followed them out of the cottage.

"Hah!" Victoria snorted "Adam doesn't need telling any more, Mia's got him properly trained!"

The three of them made their way up the hill to the café, chatting and laughing all the way. It was nice Jackson thought. He could see them all being really good friends if only he and Aaron weren't such a mess. There was just no way that they were all going to be hanging out together once the mechanic made his feelings clear to his mates. Again he asked himself how he'd allowed himself to get into such a situation.

An hour and a half and a very satisfying full English breakfast later, Jackson was pouring over the third and final folder full of plans and ideas for the B&B. They'd made good progress so far, whittling down the various different schemes that Mia and Victoria had come up with, to the ones which he deemed might be possible given the structure of the building and the finance available. The two women were quietly discussing what he'd given them so far as he finished up some calculations on costings and labour hours for the last draft proposal in the file.

Jackson had just scribbled down the final figures and added the papers to the pile to be reviewed by the girls, when the door of the café flew open and a child's high pitched squeals of laugher filled the room. Looking back over his shoulder at the commotion the contractor was shocked to see Aaron come bustling in with a huge grin on his face, a small boy who turned out to be the source of the laughter riding him piggyback. The two rushed up to the counter and as Aaron came to a halt the kid made a screeching noise like the squeal of brakes before bursting into another fit of giggles.

"Afternoon Viv!" the mechanic breathlessly greeted the woman behind the counter.

"Aaron." she replied, rather frostily Jackson thought "What can I get for you?"

If he noticed the woman's tone then Aaron didn't let it show when he answered.

"We'll have a couple of bacon butties, an orange juice and a coffee please."

"That'll be nine pounds." Viv said holding out a hand expectantly.

"I'm paying!" the little boy piped up as the mechanic awkwardly fished a ten pound note out of his pocket.

"Are you now?" Aaron asked as he craned his neck round to look at the child "You been saving yer pocket money to pay for my lunch 'ave ya? That's very nice of ya!"

The boy whispered something in the man's ear which caused Aaron to snort in amusement. Wordlessly he held up the tenner which was duly snatched by a small hand, then leaned forward so that the kid, looking very pleased with himself, could pass the note to Viv.

Jackson turned back round, hoping that Aaron wouldn't notice them sat in the corner. He looked across the table at Victoria and Mia and found them gazing over at the counter, their faces all smiles and gooey-eyes.

The two women glanced at each other grinning. "Saturday!" they both said together and giggled. Victoria must've caught his blank expression at their actions.

"Sorry… Bit of a village in joke I suppose you'd call it! Aaron has Brennan every Saturday… If you ever want anything off him everyone knows that that's when you ask 'cause he's guaranteed to be in a good mood!"

"Yeah," Mia added "Brennan's like Aaron's kryptonite… Turns him into a great big softy... Don't tell him I said that!"

Jackson glanced back at the mechanic again just as the younger man lowered Brennan to the ground in order to gather up their lunch. Great… As if things hadn't felt messed up enough already, it now turned out that Aaron had a kid! If only someone had mentioned that last night then he was sure that they wouldn't have ended up… Doing what they'd ended up doing. With a sigh he turned back to face the women.

"I didn't realise Aaron was a dad."

Mia and Victoria both stared at him for a second before bursting out laughing, but before he could ask what was so funny he became aware of a presence at his side. Looking down he found a small pair of hands gripping the arm of his wheelchair and a pair of wide hazel eyes peering up at him from beneath a mop of unruly brown hair.

"Hi!" the little boy piped.

"Erm… Hello." Jackson replied uncomfortably. He didn't have any experience of dealing with children and getting caught in a conversation with Aaron's probably wasn't the best way to avoid a run in with the mechanic.

"Why do you have wheels?" Brennan asked curiously "Are you a robot?"

"No, I'm not a robot!" Jackson laughed despite himself "I have wheels 'cause my legs don't work properly."

"Oh…" the child said looking slightly disappointed "I've got a robot. My daddy bought it for me. It's blue… We can go play with it if you like?"

"Really? That's very nice of ya to offer, but aren't you and yer dad about to have some lunch?" the contractor asked glancing worriedly at Aaron who was heading their way.

Brennan followed his gaze and pulled a face when he saw who Jackson meant.

"That's not my dad silly, that's Aaron." the little boy stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world "He's my big brother."

"Bren! Stop bothering Aunty Vic and Aunty Mia and come eat yer dinner." Aaron called from a couple of tables away where he was arranging their food and drinks. Jackson noted that the younger man avoided looking at or mentioning him.

"He's not bothering us!" Victoria exclaimed "Why don't the two of you come join us?"

"Don't want to disturb you." the mechanic replied. Jackson was sure that his eyes had flickered briefly in his direction that time.

"You won't be." Mia assured "Jackson's finished looking over the plans now... Actually we could do with discussing them with you, you do own quarter of the business after all!"

Aaron groaned. "Only until Vic finds someone daft enough to lend her the money to buy me out! I thought the entire point of being a silent partner was that I didn't have to listen to you lot going on about it?"

"Nope, it just means that you can't complain when we ignore your feelings and do whatever we want!" Victoria laughed as she picked Bren up and sat him on her lap "Pleeeeeease Aaron... Come sit with us! I wanna play with Brennan!"

Jackson couldn't help but smile as Aaron's expression soften as he watched his friend hugging the little boy... Mia was right about the kid being his kryptonite it seemed!

"Fine." the mechanic relented with a roll of his eyes as he gathered up the sandwiches and cups again and came to sit down in the spare chair opposite Jackson. He passed one plate and the glass of orange juice across to Victoria and made a start on his bacon butty as Mia proceeded to shove bits of paper in his direction.

The contractor watched Aaron and Mia going over the building plans whilst Victoria fussed over Brennan, and thought that he might be able to make his escape now without seeming too obvious. Despite everything he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off the mechanic, after all, it wasn't like the younger man had suddenly ceased to be attractive, but getting caught staring now would be beyond awkward. Even as that thought passed through his mind, Aaron glanced up from the paper he was studying and Jackson found himself captivated just as he'd been the morning they'd first met, feeling himself falling into the achingly blue depths of the other man's eyes...

"Do you like cars?" Brennan's voice snapped him back to reality and allowed him to tear his gaze away from the mechanic to look at the little boy.

"Urr... They're okay I guess." he answered, determinedly not checking to see how Aaron was reacting to being ogled.

"Cars are cool!" Brennan exclaimed in a tone of voice that made it clear that Jackson was mad if he thought otherwise "Aaron's got a garage."

"Oh, yes. Yes I know, I've been there." Jackson replied feeling slightly flustered. He had no idea where this conversation had come from or where it was going, and the fact that Victoria was smirking at him over the top of the child's head wasn't helping.

"It's got a big hole with a thing that goes up and down with cars on and there's a machine with all wires and Aaron plugs it into broken stuff and then it goes beep and then things work properly again. Sometimes I help!" the boy announced excitedly.

"Do you? That's... Very impressive?"

"My dad says that Aaron can fix anything with wheels." Brennan stated proudly, regarding Jackson with wide, solemn eyes.

"I'm sure he can!" the older man smiled, finally feeling like he could contribute something "My car wasn't working yesterday and he fixed it up good as new in no time!"

"You've got wheels..." Brennan grinned back.

Jackson froze as he realized what the kid was getting at. He knew his mouth was still smiling at Bren, but it felt like the rest of his face suddenly didn't want to be associated with it. Shifting his eyes from the boy to Victoria he hoped to find some sort of help there, but the young woman just gave him a helpless shrug.

"We're going to the garage after lunch," Brennan informed him, oblivious to the sudden tension in the adults around him "You should come too so's Aaron can fix your legs!"

The little boy was looking across at his brother with such innocent adulation in his eyes that Jackson was afraid to look at the mechanic to see what this was doing to him. He couldn't bear the thought that he might be the cause of Aaron being toppled from the pedestal that Brennan obviously put him on. He knew all too well the pain of discovering that someone you idolise is only human after all... Unwelcome memories of how his father had beaten him and walked out when he'd told him he was gay sprang into his mind, making the situation even more bitter than it already was. Maybe Brennan wouldn't feel as terrible as he had that day, but he knew how much it would hurt Aaron to disappoint the child, and something inside him riled at the very idea of the younger man being in pain.

"You can fix the wheely man's legs for him can't you?" the boy asked Aaron with a hopeful smile.

Jackson couldn't help but look at the mechanic then, and the sadness he saw in his eyes as he prepared to admit that this was something beyond his abilities to repair was just as terrible as he'd imagined.

"He already offered to fix them yesterday when he repaired my car." Jackson blurted out before Aaron could say anything, "I err... I said no."

"Why?" Brennan asked with a puzzled frown.

The contractor could feel four pairs of eyes staring at him as he desperately tried to think up a good reason for not wanting to be able to walk or run.

"Urm... Well I'm kinda lazy and this way I get to spend the whole day sitting down and just rolling about from place to place instead of doing all that walking and stuff." he tried.

"Oh..." the boy said looking thoughtful "D'you think I could get wheels too?" he continued excitedly.

Okay... So talking to children was proving to be a tad more complicated than he'd thought it would be. He was fairly certain that the kid's parents were not going to thank him for apparently convincing their child that being in a wheelchair was a cool lifestyle choice. He didn't dare look at anyone else sat at the table; he didn't know whether they'd be watching in amusement or anger, and he wasn't really sure which would be worse to see so he concentrated on Brennan.

"Sure... They make you eat 5 plates of vegetables a day though to stop everyone else getting jealous about it. So as long as you don't mind that..."

Jackson prayed that Bren was a stereotypical child who considered anything green on his dinner plate as being a challenge to hide rather than food to be eaten, and was truly thankful when the little boy's face screwed up in disgust.

"You're weird." he proclaimed and went back to munching on the last of his bacon sandwich.

Victoria gave him a big smile, and that gave him the courage to check how Aaron was reacting to it all... He hoped the mechanic wouldn't be pissed off that he'd basically spun a pack of lies to his little brother just to get out of an awkward situation!

The look on the younger man's face took his breath away. There was no anger there whatsoever, in fact Aaron's expression seemed to be one of deep gratitude. But Jackson could swear that there was more to it than that... There was something in the slight crook of the lips and an intensity about the eyes that he wanted to think spoke of desire more than anything else... It was a look he hadn't been on the receiving end of for a long time, and it was gone so quickly as Aaron dropped his head to study his coffee that Jackson found himself doubting that it had ever really been there at all, his suddenly pounding heart the only evidence. He really needed to get away before he started imagining god only knew what else!

"I'd best be getting home, got a bit of work that I should try to get finished." Jackson announced, wheeling himself away from the table slightly "Let me know what you decided about the B&B." he added looking from Mia to Victoria "I can always get David to come out and we can do a site visit then finalise a quote for you if you want."

"Will do! Thanks for all your help, it's been great talking to someone who knows what he's doing." Mia replied as Victoria nodded her agreement.

Jackson allowed himself another quick glance at Aaron and was surprised to find the mechanic pushing his chair back and getting up from the table.

"We'll walk with you if that's okay?" the younger man asked quietly, surprising Jackson even more "Like Bren said we're off to the garage for a bit."

"Err... Yeah, no probs." the contractor answered nervously. He thought that Aaron would be doing his best to avoid him after how the man had reacted that morning.

"Come on then kid." the mechanic said to Brennan "Give Aunty Vic and Aunty Mia a kiss goodbye and we'll go fix some cars."

Jackson smiled as he watched the child do the rounds before scurrying over to take hold of Aaron's hand and pull him towards the door. The older man followed after them wondering why Aaron had asked to walk down with him. He was certain that he couldn't have anything nasty planned, not with his little brother in tow. Sighing he guessed he'd find out soon enough.

-x-x-

Aaron had no idea what he was going to do. Stomping down the road with his hands shoved deep in his hoody pockets, he watched Jackson zooming down the hill ahead of him, Brennan sitting on his lap laughing his head off, and scowled. Why was he doing this to himself? It was only a few hours ago that he'd resolved to keep as far away from Jackson Walsh as possible, and now here he was following after the man like some sort of oversized puppy. Damn him for being in the café! And damn him for being so amazing and sweet and sexy...

He'd known he was in there as soon as he and Bren had burst through the door. In the same way that a compass needle gets dragged to point north, something inside of him seemed to have attuned itself to Jackson's presence, and sure enough a quick scan of the room showed him that there was the older man, sat in a corner with Victoria and Mia.

He'd had every intention of ignoring them all, realising that this must be the little meeting about the bed and breakfast that had been arranged in the pub the night before. He had no desire to get dragged into a conversation about load bearing walls or colour schemes or whatever they might be discussing, and he really, really didn't want to face Jackson after being so summarily dismissed that morning. Unfortunately Brennan's curiosity had scuppered that plan before he could even put it into practice.

Aaron had only taken his eyes off the boy for a second in order to juggle the two plates of sandwiches, his coffee and the glass of orange juice, whilst that bitch Viv stood behind the counter smirking at him unhelpfully. Looking up he'd found that his little brother had wandered off and had, quite typically, homed in on the one place that he really wanted to keep away from. Bren was talking to Jackson and had just made the older man laugh, the warm sound sending shivers through Aaron's body.

Of course he'd ended up being dragged into exactly what he'd hoped to avoid, staring blankly at drawings and calculations as he tried to stop himself looking over at Jackson who was sat directly opposite him. It felt like some sort of horrible torture, having someone you ached to touch but couldn't, sitting so close. He'd given in then and allowed himself a tiny glance at the older man, only to find that Jackson happened to be looking in his direction. Meeting his eyes he'd instantly forgotten that the rest of the world existed; it was as if the only things that mattered anymore were those two chocolate brown pools sparkling dazzlingly at him from just a couple of feet away.

Aaron could happily have stayed like that forever, but Jackson looked away and reality snapped back into place around him. Brennan was saying something or other to the contractor... Talking about cars and the garage. It had taken a minute for the Jackson induced fog to clear from his brain, and when it had he wished that he could retreat back to that place of warm comfortable fuzziness.

Bren was looking at him with those huge, trusting hazel eyes of his and asking him to fix Jackson's legs. He'd known the day would come when he let the little boy down, after all, despite his best efforts he seemed to let everyone down eventually in one way or another. But he'd tried so hard to be everything the kid expected and deserved of a big brother, that he had hoped it'd at least be a little longer before Brennan discovered that his idol had feet of clay.

Feeling crushed, he'd been about to tell Bren that there wasn't anything he could do to help Jackson, when the older man had butted in with some ridiculous story about not wanting his legs fixed 'cause he was lazy, and then something about having to eat a lot of vegetables that had put an end to the whole conversation. Apparently he'd been given a reprieve and it was all thanks to Jackson. He didn't think he'd ever felt more grateful to another human being in his entire life, and that mixed with what he'd already been feeling for the older man made him want him more than ever.

He couldn't help but stare at Jackson, even though he knew that what was going through his mind must be written all over his face. It was a physical effort not to throw himself across the table and kiss the older man right there in front of everyone, consequence be damned, but that would most definitely put an end to them ever talking or hanging out again. He knew now that there was no way that he couldn't have Jackson in his life somehow, even though it would never be in the way that he wanted.

They could be friends though surely? Aaron thought. It would be difficult to maintain his distance but he couldn't imagine that it'd be as hard as cutting him out of his life altogether. They lived in the same village for god's sake, he'd probably see him practically every day. Even if he wanted to avoid him he couldn't. Plus Jackson was getting on well with Victoria and Mia, and Adam had liked him, it wouldn't be fair to ruin all those potential friendships just because he wanted to throw himself at the older man whenever he saw him.

So when Jackson had left the café he'd made sure that they'd followed. Brennan seemed to have really taken to him which was a positive sign. The kid was an excellent judge of character... At least he appeared to dislike everyone that Aaron disliked which the mechanic took as proof that the boy had good taste. He seemed to have developed a fascination with the wheelchair and its occupant and almost as soon as they were outside had asked shyly if he could have a ride which Jackson had good naturedly agreed to.

So here he was following Jackson about like a love-sick teenager, desperately trying to think of a way to stop the older man disappearing off home when they reached Dale Head and the garage. They needed to talk and they needed to do it as soon as possible before Aaron chickened out. He just couldn't think of anything that would keep Jackson around long enough for him to figure out what he wanted to say.

As he neared Jackson's home he saw the contractor and Bren chatting as they waited for him to catch up. The little boy was pointing up towards the garage and every now and then jumping excitedly up and down on the spot. As he walked up to the pair Jackson turned to look at him looking slightly apprehensive.

"Apparently I'm coming to the garage to play with the cars." the older man said with a rather weak smile "I er... I hope that's okay? I can just head home if not."

Aaron glanced at Bren who was grinning like a Cheshire cat at having snared himself a new playmate. He so wanted to hug him right now.

"No that's fine." he replied, doing his best to sound casual "You'd be doing me a favour actually. You can keep him entertained whilst I get a bit of work done!"

"Cool." Jackson replied with a genuine smile this time.

The afternoon passed pleasantly, Aaron busily working away on a couple of cars that needed to be finished by Monday, whilst Jackson and Brennan chased each other round the forecourt in between coming over to pester the mechanic into explaining what he was doing.

Aaron didn't think he'd ever had a better Saturday... He loved the time he spent with Bren but having Jackson there somehow seemed to make it even more enjoyable. Watching to two of them playing together whilst he took a break from being under the bonnet made him inexplicably happy, and from the way the pair were shouting and giggling at one another it was clear that they were enjoying themselves just as much. It only strengthened his resolve to sort things with Jackson so that they could be mates.

"Fancy a brew?" he called out to Jackson as he trundled by, closely followed Brennan who'd dragged his tricycle out of the garage office.

"Yeah, I think I'd actually kill for one right now!" the contractor answered breathlessly "Milk and two sugars please!"

Aaron headed inside and put the kettle on, staring out the window at Jackson as he waited for the kettle to boil. This was it. He had less than five minutes before he said whatever the hell he was going to say to the older man. He thought he might throw up he was so nervous. He was just going to have to tell him the truth about wanting them to be friends... Obviously not the whole truth – telling a straight man that every time you saw him you want to jump on him and stick your tongue down his throat was unlikely to result in him agreeing to be your mate. But if he could just skirt around that issue then he hoped that Jackson would just write off the night before as a moment of alcohol induced madness that would never be repeated.

The kettle clicked off and he quickly made the tea, heaping an extra fourth spoonful of sugar into his own for courage, wishing that he had something a bit stronger to add instead. Carefully carrying the mugs outside, he seated himself on the end of the little bench next to the doors that he'd bought specially for taking his breaks, holding out Jackson's drink as the older man wheeled himself over and backed his chair in next to him.

The two men sat quietly for a couple of minutes smiling as they watched Brennan pedalling back and forth across the gravel humming happily to himself, obviously far away in a little world of his own. Aaron was trying to think of some way to start up a conversation when Jackson saved him the trouble.

"How old is he?" the contractor asked gesturing towards the little boy with his mug.

"He turned three a couple of months back, though he's small for his age apparently." Aaron replied.

"He's really smart... Don't think I was chattering away like he does when I was his age!" Jackson laughed.

"Yeah me neither... I reckon he's probably cleverer than me already. Guess he takes after his mum and dad, they're the smartest people I know." the mechanic smiled fondly.

"You mean your mum and dad? I thought he was your brother?" the older man asked sounding puzzled.

"He is... Well, as near as makes no difference at least. He's Paddy and Rhona's kid."

"The vets?"

"Yeah. I've been living with Paddy since I was sixteen or seventeen... Him and me mam used to be together before she messed it all up and when she moved out I kinda stayed on. He's been like a dad to me ever since. Dunno what I'd do without 'im, or Rhona now come to think of it... How sad am I eh? Living at home with someone else's parents?" Aaron laughed.

"You think that's sad? You should meet my mum!" Jackson chuckled "She's got the travel bug big time and goes all over the world... Turns up on my doorstep three or four times a year to doss on the sofa for a few weeks and earn some money, then she's off again. Sometimes I wonder who's whose parent!"

Aaron decided that now that they both seemed to be in a good mood and a little more relaxed it was time to take the plunge.

"Jackson... About last night and this morning..."

Beside him he felt the older man tense and he hurried to get out what he wanted to say in case he never got the chance after this.

"I was wondering if there's any chance of us being friends after what happened? I mean I don't really have very many and we seemed to be getting on really well... I'll understand if you're not interested... If it's too awkward or whatever... I just wanted you to know that I'd like it if we could be mates is all."

He turned to look at Jackson as he finished and found the older man staring at him in complete surprise.

"What? Have I got something on my face?" he asked, feeling desperately around his mouth and forehead with his free hand, not wanting to look like any more of an idiot than he already felt he did.

"No... I just wasn't expecting that." Jackson answered shaking his head.

"Expecting what?"

"That you'd still want to be friends with me."

"Why wouldn't I?" Aaron asked in confusion. After all, it wasn't him that had reacted with disgusted to what they'd done.

"You... You just don't seem the type to... To err you know... Forgive and forget that sort of thing."

The mechanic's face scrunched up. He had no idea what Jackson was talking about.

"Sorry, I don't get ya?" he replied.

"Well it's just... It's just that you look all kinda -" at which Jackson pulled a sort of scowly angry face, "I didn't think that you'd take the whole thing so calmly..."

Aaron's eyes widened in shock as he realised what Jackson was saying.

"What? You thought I was gonna turn around and deck you or something? Freak out over a drunken kiss?" he exclaimed.

"Err... Well the thought did cross my mind." the contractor shrugged apologetically.

Aaron had to turn away, not wanting Jackson to see the look on his face. He felt hurt that that was what Jackson thought of him. He knew that he wasn't exactly soft looking but he was positive that he'd never given the older man any reason to believe that he would ever harm him in any way. Maybe he couldn't blame him though, it's not like they knew each other that well.

"If we're going to be friends, could you promise me one thing?" Aaron asked seriously as he turned back to look Jackson in the eye.

"Urm... If I can then yeah." the contractor replied sounding slightly nervous.

"Promise me that you won't judge me based on what I look like or what you hear about me? I get enough of that as it is... Just... If you want to know something or you're worried about something, ask me instead of just assuming yeah?"

"I can do that." Jackson replied with a smile.

"Thank you." Aaron said quietly "Sooo... Tell me more about this crazy mother of yours!"

Sitting comfortably in the late afternoon sunshine the two men laughed and joked together, Brennan scampering about around them, none of them feeling as if they had a care in the world.


	5. Chapter 5

_Part 5 (finally!)_

It was nearly a month now since he'd moved to Emmerdale, and all in all it couldn't have gone much better Jackson thought as he lay watching the play of morning sunlight on the bedroom ceiling. Most people had been really welcoming and he'd quickly found himself becoming a part of village life. He was so used to living in a town or a city that it had felt a little odd at first. In Leeds he sometimes went weeks or even months without randomly running into someone he knew, now everywhere he went familiar faces passed him in the street, stopping to say hello or to have a bit of a chat. He liked it, it was reassuring to know pretty much everyone you were likely to meet, it made him feel safe.

It wasn't perfect of course. There were some individuals that he didn't really like or who didn't particularly like him, and a few who treated him with pity just because he was in a wheelchair... He'd even overheard the woman who owned the café talking about him as if he was dead at one point, going on about how tragic it was for a life to have been cut short at such an early age! Still, there were always going to be people you didn't get on with, and after all these years he was used to people who couldn't see beyond the chair, so he did his best not to let it bother him. The biggest problem though was Aaron.

He and the younger man were so different from one another in so many ways, that on paper there was no way that they should work as friends. Jackson was friendly, easy going, sociable and tolerant of others, whereas Aaron... Well Aaron wasn't really any of those things the contractor thought to himself with a smile. He could be moody, grumpy, rude, obnoxious and unbelievably stubborn sometimes, but somehow, despite their differences the two of them got along like a house on fire.

Something about their disparate personalities played off one another and they seemed to be able to spend hours verbally sparring, much to their own amusement and that of anyone watching. Jackson actually got on better with Aaron than he did with anyone else in the village, even Adam who was very much like himself in many respects, and who he'd formed a close friendship with. And therein lay the problem... He had a horrible feeling that he was well on his way to falling for the mechanic.

The afternoon when Aaron had completely surprised him by saying that he'd like it if they could be friends, Jackson had figured that by 'friends' the younger man was really just being polite and suggesting that they maybe go to the pub an evening or two a month. Apparently Aaron had been entirely sincere though, as the very next day he'd invited him to Sunday lunch in the Woolie. Then on Monday Jackson found himself being introduced to the other mechanics that worked at the garage, Aaron having knocked on his back door and insisted that he join them on their tea break, telling him that he shouldn't stay cooped up inside all day long. Tuesday they'd gone to the B&B to have lunch with Mia, Adam and Victoria. Wednesday evening Aaron had turned up with a large Alsatian that he'd introduced as Clyde, and asked if he wanted to come for a walk, or a roll as the younger man had put it with a cheeky wink. Then on Thursday he'd joined the mechanic and his employees in the pub for a few drinks after work... And it went on from there. Hardly a day had gone by in the past month where he didn't see and spend at least a little time with Aaron. Then of course there were Saturdays.

He hadn't realised that he'd made much of an impression on little Brennan until there'd been a knock at the door on the morning of his second Saturday in the village. When he'd opened it he'd found the small boy stood in the porch wearing shorts and a t-shirt and a pair of oversized wellies, clutching a fishing net tightly in both hands. "Are you gonna come fishing for sticklebacks Uncle Jackson?" Bren had asked hopefully. There had been no way he could have refused after being referred to as Uncle Jackson, and pretty much the same thing had happened each Saturday since. The only variation had been in the activity in which he was invited to participate – fishing, feeding the ducks, hunting for caterpillars, and on one occasion tree climbing... He was pretty sure that his mother would've had a heart attack if she'd seen him being hoisted into an oak tree by a maniacally grinning mechanic whilst a three year old boy sat on a nearby branch applauding madly and laughing his head off. It was the most fun Jackson had had in years! And it was on those days that he'd gotten to know the other side of Aaron Livesy.

When Aaron was with Bren he was quite different to how he was around anyone else Jackson had seen him with. He talked more, smiled more and laughed more, displayed a tremendous sense of fun and a mischievous sense of humour... He was just so much more open... It was like there were two people living in the one body. Jackson liked them both but it was the contradiction between them that really intrigued him. He just couldn't understand why Aaron was one way around his brother and another way around everyone else. Or at least he'd thought it was only Brennan that brought out that sweeter, kinder side of the younger man until a couple of days ago.

The contractor had just finished up his work for the day when there'd been a rapping at the back door which he recognised as Aaron's knock. Scooting over to answer it he'd discovered the mechanic holding a six pack of beers and a DVD case.

"Alright mate?" Aaron had greeted him "You busy tonight? Only Adam lent me this film that he says is amazing and I wondered if you fancied watching it over a couple of cans?"

"Err yeah, sounds good." Jackson had replied, trying not to think about the last time Aaron had come round for a drink "I could order us a curry or something? Not really in the mood for cooking."

"Mint!" the younger man had smiled and made his way inside.

The two of them had chatted about this and that whilst they waited for the food to arrive, then settled down with it to watch the film. About twenty minutes into the movie they'd both agreed that it was absolutely dire, and then spent the rest of it making fun of the actors and the dialogue, and laughing at Adam's atrocious taste.

They'd polished off the lager and cleaned up, and then Aaron had headed home. It was only after the younger man had left that the contractor realised he'd spent the evening with Saturday Aaron rather than Other Day Aaron, and Brennan was most definitely not around. He suddenly felt rather warm at the thought that the younger man had been that way with him whilst they were alone... Jackson hadn't even seen him show that side of himself to Adam who was his best friend! He had no idea what it meant but that didn't stop it feeling good. More than good in fact, it felt great! It made him feel special...

That had been it... That was when he'd realised that he liked Aaron more than ever. He had hoped that as he got to know the mechanic they'd enter the friendship zone and that his attraction to him would wane, leaving them free to just be mates. In fact the opposite had turned out to be true; now he thought Aaron was hot, _and_ he knew what an amazing, fascinating man he was on top of that. For the life of him he didn't know what to do about it. On the one hand he didn't want to lose the younger man as a friend - it would hurt so much and he'd gotten so used to seeing him almost every day that he knew he'd feel lonely if he was gone from his life, but on the other, what would it be like to fall even further for Aaron in the knowledge that his feelings would never be returned?

And now it was Saturday again. In fact it was Saturday the 5th of August 2017. It was his twenty eighth birthday, and he still had no idea what to do about the Aaron situation. A mind full of confusion and indecision was not the best way to start the day! And he only had a couple of hours before he was expecting a little knock at the door, at which point he'd be spending who knew how long in Aaron's company. He really hoped that Brennan didn't want to do anything too strenuous today, he was going out to celebrate with some friends tonight and he could do without feeling frazzled before the night had even started!

Getting out of bed he did his morning exercises before heading to the bathroom to shower and brush his teeth, then it was downstairs for some breakfast and a much needed cup of tea. Checking the time Jackson figured he had maybe an hour before Bren was likely to turn up so he settled down on the sofa to relax and open his presents.

He received the usual collection of naff pullovers and gift vouchers from his relatives, including a god awful rainbow striped cardigan which his mum had apparently picked out specially for him on her way through San Francisco a couple of months ago. He supposed that it was better than the gay Karma Sutra that she'd sent him the previous year, but only marginally. David had bought him a smart new watch and also a pair of mudguards, attaching a note to say that he might find them useful extras for his chair now that he was living 'out in the sticks'. Everyone was a comedian it seemed. He was glad now that he hadn't mentioned his birthday to anyone in the village, else who knew what horrors Adam or Aaron might've come up with?

Jackson was surprised out of his consideration of his presents by the ringing of the doorbell. Frowning in puzzlement as to who it might be he quickly heaved himself off the sofa into his wheelchair. It couldn't be the postman - he'd already been today as evidenced by the delightful pill of bills that had magically appeared in the letterbox that morning, and it was a bit early to be Brennan, plus the little boy always knocked because he was too short to reach the button for the bell.

As he manoeuvred himself around the couch, Jackson had a sinking feeling at the sudden thought that maybe his mother was paying him one of her unannounced visits. She had a tendency of turning up around his birthday, usually in time for the night out where she'd proceed to cause him the maximum amount of embarrassment humanly possible. Praying that he was wrong but plastering a fake grin on his face just in case, the contractor unlocked and opened the door. He was thankful to find Aaron slouching there with his hands jammed into the pockets of his trackie bottoms.

"Well, well Brennan, you certainly shot up overnight didn't you? And looking more and more like Aaron every day... Worse luck for you!" Jackson felt his smile turn genuine at the sight of the younger man.

"Oi! That kid'll be blessed if he grows up even half as gorgeous as me!" the mechanic replied, looking smugly off into the distance as he smoothed a head of imaginary hair with one hand.

"Oh! It's you Aaron!" the older man exclaimed in mock realisation "I guess I should of realised from the clothes... Bren has much better dress sense than you do."

"What's wrong with the way I dress?" Aaron pouted as he looked down at himself worriedly.

"Err... Your trousers are tucked into your socks..." Jackson answered in a tone that clearly stated that he needn't say more.

"So?" the younger man countered.

"Well unless you're planning on happy slapping an OAP on the way back from the post office there's just no excuse!" the contractor smirked.

"Funny you should say that actually, I just saw Pearl on her way to the shop..." Aaron replied, stroking his chin thoughtfully which had Jackson chuckling.

"I'm gonna tell her you said that!"

"You wouldn't dare!" the mechanic gasped in horror.

"Oh ya think so do ya?" the older man asked sweetly.

"Yeah... 'Cause if you do I'll tell her you laughed!"

"Touché Mr Livesy, touché!" Jackson shook his head resignedly.

"Oh my god!" Aaron exclaimed excitedly "Did I actually win?"

"Yeah yeah, don't get used to it, I'm just feeling in a generous mood this morning!" the contractor snorted "And speaking of this morning, to what do I owe the unexpectedly early pleasure of your company?"

"Oh, err... Bren wants to go swimming today... I thought it'd be best if I came to see whether or not you were up for it rather than him turning up... I know he can be hard to say no to."

"I can swim you know Aaron?" Jackson replied defensively. So far the mechanic had never treated him differently to anyone who wasn't in a wheelchair, the hurt was unexpectedly sharp to have him start now.

"Urm yeah, I wasn't suggesting you couldn't..." the younger man answered sounding confused "It's just that I'd have to take Paddy's car and there won't be room in the back for your chair 'cause of the animal cages and stuff, so I wanted to see if you'd be okay driving us? That's if you want to come obviously... I just didn't want you to feel like you needed to put yourself out if you didn't want all the hassle of car seats and whatnot..."

"Oh..." Jackson said feeling like an idiot "Err yeah that'd be fine. And I'll be leaving the car seat up to you Mr Mechanic, so that'll be your hassle not mine!"

"Fair enough!" Aaron laughed "Thanks for doing this, we'd... I mean Bren would miss you if you weren't there! You've got yerself quite the little fan!"

Jackson watched the younger man carefully... He was sure he'd been about to say something else but had caught himself at the last second. The mechanic began to fidget under his gaze and Jackson thought he could detect the faintest hint of a blush creeping across Aaron's face, but then again it was fairly dim in the porch so he could be imagining it. Wishful thinking again no doubt.

"Right! I'd best be off, got to get Brennan ready and all. We'll see you in a half hour or so okay?" Aaron said rather hurriedly, not waiting for an answer before he turned and strode off down the ramp before disappearing up the road.

Jackson groaned as he allowed his head to loll backwards. This whole fancying Aaron thing was quite possibly going to kill him... He wondered if he'd be the first person in history to die of frustration.

-x-x-

A gentle knock rattled the changing room door on its hinges startling Jackson mid dither.

"Jackson?" Aaron's muffled voice drifted through the laminated chipboard "Me and Bren are ready, d'you want us to wait for ya?"

"No, no. You guys go ahead, I'll just be a couple of minutes." the older man replied.

"Okay, we'll see you in there then."

As the sound of retreating footsteps drifted away Jackson went back to being stressed. Why on earth had he agreed to go swimming? It wasn't that he didn't like swimming, he did, it was one of his favourite forms of exercise and he tried to go at least once a week. He just hadn't thought through all the implications that going with Aaron and Brennan would entail, or to be more accurate, that going with Aaron would entail.

He had two big concerns... One of which he knew was ridiculous but which nevertheless had him sitting in this box of a room still fully clothed; the other he felt was perfectly valid, and was currently swinging wildly between a reason to stay hidden in here and a reason to get out to the pool as quickly as possible.

Firstly he was freaking out about Aaron seeing him in his swimming costume. It was daft... The mechanic probably wouldn't even give him a second glance, and even if he did it's not like he had any interest in what Jackson looked like, but the older man just couldn't help himself. There was nothing wrong with the top half of his body, in fact it was probably looking better than ever before. Going to the gym two or three times a week now that he wasn't doing any manual labour had really paid off, and it made him feel a bit better about himself to know that he had a decent torso and set of arms under his shirt... Not that anyone got to see it very often he thought with a sigh. No, it was his stupid legs that he was paranoid about. He still had some ability to move the limbs, but no real control, the doctors at the clinic telling him that the remaining nerve impulses reaching them would never be strong enough for that. On the bright side his physio had later informed him that any form of movement would help stave of muscle wastage, though the days of having thighs like tree trunks from lugging stacks of bricks and bags of cement about were gone. The exercises he did every day helped keep his legs toned but he just wished he could have back what he'd lost, their slimness and disproportion to the rest of his body was a constant reminder of the accident, always there even when he was out of the chair.

The second thing he was worried about was seeing Aaron in _his_ bathing suit! He wanted to but he didn't want to at the same time... He knew the younger man had a good body - he'd seen him in a tight fitting t-shirt enough times to be certain of that, and he really would like to see it quite literally in the flesh. After all, he'd had enough lust fuelled fantasies about it, it was only fair that he got to see the real deal... It was just... Well, he was worried about how he'd react when he came face-to-face with a semi-naked Aaron with beads of water running down his hard, sculpted... Shifting uncomfortably in his suddenly too tight jeans he realised he was doing it again! Drifting off into a daydream about the young mechanic! It was one thing to have these thoughts in private, but out in the pool in a pair of lose fitting swim shorts he wasn't sure that he'd be able to hide his... Interest.

If only he hadn't jumped to the wrong conclusion earlier when Aaron had come to see if he wanted to come! If his mind hadn't been swamped with unjustified resentment and annoyance maybe he would've thought all this through then and been able to politely decline the invitation. Now it was too late! He'd said he'd go swimming and both Aaron and Brennan were expecting him out there any time now. If he backed out now he was sure Aaron wouldn't say anything but Bren would be disappointed which he really didn't want. He wasn't sure when he'd started caring so much for the little boy, but the thought of him looking sad as he told him he wasn't joining them in the water was too much to bear. With a deep, deep sigh he quickly changed into his costume and went to find a lifeguard to help deal with the wheelchair.

-x-x-

Hotten swimming pool on a Saturday afternoon in summer was, unsurprisingly, pretty busy; children, teenagers and adults alike splashing about, shouting, laughing and having a good time. The main pool was connected to a large, gently sloping, semicircular area so that toddlers and small children could paddle around in safety, and there were a couple of water slides twisting overhead that discharged their riders into a deep basin off to one side.

Jackson had found himself a seat on a long underwater ledge that acted like a bench built into the side of the pool opposite the mouth of the slides, and was keeping an eye out for Aaron and Brennan who he hadn't been able to find since getting out of the changing rooms. He figured they'd happen by eventually and in the meantime he was keeping himself entertained by listening in on the three young women sitting a couple of feet to his left who were spending their time judging the hotness of the various men around.

"How about him? He's at least an eight."

"Really? Didn't know you had a thing for beer bellies!"

"Not him! _Him_!"

"Oh... No way! He'd a six at most, and that's being generous."

Jackson smirked as he eyed up the bloke they were talking about... He had to agree with the girl who'd given the guy a six, long, scraggly blonde hair was really not a good look... Now if it'd been dark and cropped he smiled to himself...

"What about that one?"

"Seven." the two other women said simultaneously.

"Yeah that's what I... OH MY GOD! TEN!"

"Where? Where?"

"There! Just come off the slides!"

Jackson's head snapped round, not wanting to miss out on the fun, and was just in time to see Aaron hauling himself out of the plunge pool like some sort of Greek god emerging from the sea. He was glad it was so noisy or the girls sat staring at the same sight would certainly have heard the involuntary whimper that escaped from his mouth... Which he realised was currently hanging embarrassingly open. He snapped it shut before he started drooling or something.

Every fantasy he'd ever had about the mechanic paled in comparison to that one moment... Shoulders flexed as Aaron pushed himself out of the pool, water sluicing in a glittering cascade down the solid planes of muscle cording his back; one leg emerged to be planted solidly on the side, a bulging thigh straining the material of the dark, knee length swim shorts he wore, pulling it tight across the firm globes of his buttocks as he pushed himself out of the water to stand on the edge. As the younger man turned around Jackson was sure his heart would burst out of his chest it was pounding so hard. His day dream from earlier had come true right before his eyes... Glistening beads of water ran across the thick mounds of Aaron's pecs, then down over the deeply corrugated ridges of his abs before soaking into the waistband of his shorts. Kneeling down, biceps the size of grapefruit stood out on his upper arms as he scooped a laughing Brennan out of the water, the little boy throwing his arms around his brother's neck and giving him a kiss on the cheek which caused Aaron's face to light up in a heart melting smile.

"Forget ten," Jackson heard one of the girls say "That's an eleven! Look at him with his kid! How cute is that?"

"You think there's a girlfriend or wife around?"

"No wedding ring. And doesn't look there's anyone waiting for them."

It amazed the contractor that anyone could tell that Aaron wasn't wearing a wedding ring at that distance. Maybe it was some sort of superpower that only women possessed.

"Single dad then do you think?"

"Maybe... Oh my god he's coming over here and he just waved at us! Does my hair look okay?"

"Hey! I saw him first!"

"Girl, it's every woman for herself when something as fine as that comes along!"

Jackson watched a beaming Aaron waving at him as he waded over through the shallow paddling area and couldn't help laughing to himself thinking of how disappointment the women would be when they realised the mechanic was actually heading slightly to their right. Aaron was about half way across when Brennan squirmed out of his arms and splashed madly through the water, doggy paddling through the last few feet to throw himself at Jackson.

"Jackson! Jackson!" the boy squeaked in delight "We went on the slides!"

"Yeah I saw!" the contractor laughed as he juggled Brennan into a more comfortable position "You and yer big brother been having fun with out me have ya?" he said loudly enough for the three girls to overhear.

"Yeah! We're gonna go again! You should come too!" Bren exclaimed excitedly as Aaron arrived.

"Nah yer alright, I don't reckon Aaron's strong enough to carry me up all them stairs!" Jackson grinned up at the mechanic.

"He carried me!" the child stated, failing to see any difference.

"But you're just a little speck ain't ya?" the older man chuckled tickling him.

"I'm a big boy!" Brennan giggled trying to fend off Jackson's hands.

"Yeah you are." Aaron joined in the conversation "But you're not such a great fat lump as Mr Jackson here are ya? Still," he continued smirking at Jackson "I've already threatened to throw you over my shoulder once, I can always do it again!"

"Hah! I'd like to see you try!" the older man laughed, not for a second believing that Aaron wasn't joking.

The mechanic raised an eyebrow and stared at him for a few seconds, the smirk still firmly planted on his face. Then, before Jackson knew what was happening, Brennan had been shifted to stand on the bench next to him, Aaron was bending over and dragging him forward, and the whole world tilted madly before he suddenly found himself with a very nice view of the younger man's backside. For a moment he was too shocked to say anything, plus resisting the temptation to bite Aaron's bum was taking a lot of concentration, but finally his brain caught up with what had just happened.

"You complete and utter -" he started to say, angry and embarrassed about being manhandled.

"Now now, not in front of the kids! Don't make me dunk you!" Aaron chuckled.

Jackson felt his stomach flip as the vibrations of the mechanics deep voice ran throughout his entire body, making him acutely aware that they were pressed skin to skin in many places... He could even dimly feel Aaron's rough hands on his legs and he again wished that they worked properly, this time so that he could fully experience that touch

"You wouldn't dare!" the older man snapped because it was the first thing that came into his distracted head. He regretted it the moment it was passed his lips as the mechanic slowly started to bend at the knees and his face got closer and closer to the water. The whole situation was utterly childish and as he saw Brennan jumping up and down on the bench, clapping and giggling at the antics playing out before him, he realised the humour in the situation... And that he could always fight fire with fire!

"Aaron?" he said sweetly as he arched his back to keep his head as far above the water as possible.

"Yes dear?" the younger man answered in the same tone of voice which made Jackson snort.

"Do you really think you're in any position to be making threats?" the contractor asked.

"What do you mean?" Aaron replied suspiciously, ceasing his downward movement.

It was Jackson's turn to smirk, though obviously he wasn't in a place where the mechanic could see it.

"Well, it occurs to me, that unless you put me down," Jackson said conversationally as he hooked his thumbs into the waistband of Aaron's shorts and slid them a couple of inches lower, revealing a tantalising glimpse of smooth rounded flesh "I will pants you in front of the entire swimming pool."

"Err..." the younger man choked "I'll er just be putting you down then shall I?"

"Entirely up to you!"

A second later and Jackson was back in his spot on the bench and a red faced Aaron was hastily adjusting his swimming costume.

"Remind me not to play any games with you!" the mechanic grinned ruefully at the older man.

"I'll play!" Brennan piped up and threw a handful of water in Jackson's face.

"You did not just splash me?" the contractor spluttered incredulously, wiping at his eyes.

"Nope!" the little boy laughed as he swept a hand across the surface of the pool, spraying another wave of droplets over the older man "Wasn't me!"

"Right! Come 'ere you!" Jackson laughed making a grab for the child, but Bren was already paddling away into the shallows. "I'm gonna get you!" the older man called after him before launching himself into the water and swimming after the boy, leaving Aaron shaking his head in amusement.

-x-x-

Aaron sat on the bench watching Jackson and Brennan chasing one another round the wide paddling area at the side of the main pool. It had amazed him how quickly the older man could move in the shallow water... He'd never seen anything quite like it. Obviously unable to get up and run or wade through the water like everyone else, Jackson lay flat and pushed himself along the bottom with his hands, his head sticking up like the fin of a shark as he zoomed back and forth, weaving nimbly in and out of all the little kids as he trailed a squealing Brennan.

The mechanic had always thought that Jackson moved gracefully in his chair – the man could slalom though the chairs and tables in the Woolpack like nobody's business, spin on the spot, pull wheelies... Maybe it was his affinity for engines and things on wheels that had him discretely admiring the older man, quite apart from the fact that he was hotter than sin! But in the pool Jackson was something else... He was like some sort of water nymph, twisting and turning seemingly effortlessly, the muscles in his body bunching and stretching in a beautiful dance that Aaron couldn't look away from. This was not going to help the problems he'd been having lately.

Ever since Jackson had said that he was willing to be his mate, Aaron had been finding as many excuses as possible to spend time with him. At first he'd intended on just hanging out with the contractor maybe a couple of times a week or something, but he couldn't do it... When they were apart all he could think about was Jackson and he'd ended up doing his best to see him as often as he could. He told himself that maybe if they spent a lot of time together then his desire for the older man would mellow and then they could indeed just be friends. Instead it had gotten worse.

There was something about the contractor that made him feel good, even though they were so completely different from one another. Sometimes it even felt like they were two halves of the same person... All the nice, good stuff obviously having gone to Jackson and all the crap that was left over ending up in him. But when they were together... It was like Jackson gave him the ability to be nice and good too. It was a bit like when he spent time with Brennan only more so. He felt complete in older man's company in a way that he never had done before. It was becoming an addiction and he'd been wanting more and more.

That was when the dreams had started. Aaron remembered the first time it had happened with absolute clarity... Every image of Jackson's naked body wantonly writhing and grinding against his own, every lustful moan and sigh that his unconscious mind had conjured up was seared permanently into his memory, as was the memory of waking up drenched in sweat and... Other stuff. He hadn't had a dream that had made that happen since he was about sixteen! He couldn't believe at the age of twenty five he was again having to get up in the middle of the night to change the sheets. He'd thought that it was just a one off but then it had happened again and again and again. He tried everything he could think of to avoid it - having a wank, having a few beers before bed, thinking of as many unsexy things as he could before he fell asleep... Nothing helped. He was pretty sure that seeing Jackason's toned, muscular, semi-naked body in real life, bending and twisting and arching as water flowed over it was just going to add yet more fuel to the fire tonight. That wasn't stopping him staring and drinking in the sight though!

"You two make a lovely couple." a voice intruded on his introspection.

"Er... Ya what?" Aaron asked turning a puzzled frown on the girl to his left who'd spoken.

"I said that you and him," she said waving a hand between him and where Jackson was chasing Bren "Make a lovely couple." her two friends nodding and smiling in agreement next to her.

"Oh er..." the mechanic gulped feeling his face flushing red with embarrassment "We're not a couple."

"Really?" the woman exclaimed sounding surprised "Sorry... We just assumed from the way that you were looking at him..."

"He's straight." Aaron muttered, hoping that he'd kept the feelings of disappointment and frustration that welled up whenever that little fact entered his head out of his voice.

He knew that he'd obviously failed when the girl smiled sympathetically and answered "By you wish that he wasn't..." It wasn't a question.

"Something like that yeah." Aaron replied with a sigh, looking longingly back over at Jackson.

"See! I told you he was gay!" he heard one of the other women whisper.

Fantastic. That's all he needed. If random strangers were starting to be able to tell that he was gay, it would only be a matter of time before Jackson and people in the village saw it too. There was only one thing that he could think of to do... He was going to have to go and find himself a man to replace Jackson, then maybe he'd again be able to hide whatever it was that was giving him away until he was ready. Thank god it was Saturday and he didn't have any plans for the night. The sooner he got started the sooner he could exorcise Jackson Walsh from his mind and get back to what passed for normal in Emmerdale.


	6. Chapter 6

_Farewell Jackson :(_

_Part 6 dedicated to everyone who loved him and and for all of us who didn't get what we wanted..._

"So is this cup of tea ever going to materialise?" Rhona asked as she sat at the kitchen table flicking idly through a magazine "I only mention it because I've only got maybe another fifty or sixty odd years left to live..."

"Err... Sorry... What?" Paddy replied snapping to attention.

"Tea? You offered to make me one?" his wife reminded him "The kettle boiled five minutes ago and you've been staring out the window ever since."

"Oh! Yes tea! Sorry! Do you fancy a cup?"

With a sigh Rhona flipped the magazine closed and sat back in her chair to survey her husband. His gaze had already become unfocused and he was staring off into space again, obviously deep in thought. She smiled fondly at him shaking her head. She knew what was troubling him. Only two things brought that faraway look to his eyes - worrying about their little boy and worrying about the twenty five year old little boy who rented the spare room. Given that she could currently hear Brennan singing happily along to a Disney DVD in the living room, Paddy's thoughts must be occupied with Aaron.

"What's he done this time?" Rhona asked raising her eyebrows questioningly.

"Who?" Paddy answered with a frown.

The female vet gave him an unimpressed look in response.

"Am I really that obvious?" he sighed, coming to sit down next to her at the table.

"Only to someone as intelligent and intuitive as your gorgeous wife." Rhona smiled, reaching out to give his hand a squeeze "Now why don't you tell me what's troubling you... He can't have done anything really bad or I'm sure I would've heard about it from Pearl by now! Or from Betty. Or Edna or Diane or... Or from pretty much everybody I would imagine!"

"That's hardly fair!" Paddy exclaimed defensively "He's not been in any trouble since... Well for years! You know he'd never do anything like that again, he's not like that any more!"

"I know." his wife replied reassuringly "And I know I wasn't here when it happened, but I've heard all the stories. You can't blame me for being concerned when you get your worried face on... People round here never forget anything, some of them are just waiting for him to slip up so that they can say 'I told you so.' I love Aaron just as much as you do... I mean if it weren't for him..." Rhona had to pause as she swallowed away the lump that had suddenly formed to her throat "Well anyway, my point is that if there's something wrong then I want to help, I don't want to have to hear about it from the likes of Viv Woods after it's too late!"

"You know me," Paddy smiled warmly at her "Always fretting over nothing. I'm sure it's nowt to worry about..."

"Oh Paddy! Honestly! You know that won't wash with me! If you're sure there's nothing to worry about then you wouldn't be worrying! Just spit it!"

"Er, er, er right!" the male vet stuttered "Er... Well you know Jackson?"

"Yeah of course... The poor man's probably sick of the sight of me what with the number of times your son drags me over there on the way back from nursery! Really nice guy, though I'm probably biased given all the lovely things he says about Brennan."

"Right, well I'm a bit... Concerned. About him and Aaron..."

"Oh my god! Is something going on between those two? Is that why they're always hanging around together? Are they... You know..." Rhona whispered excitedly, waggling her eyebrows up and down.

"No!" Paddy exclaimed going red "No, nothing like that... Aaron says that they're just mates. He told me Jackson's straight."

"Oh." the female vet's face fell in disappointment "So what's the problem?"

"Don't you think that Aaron's been acting a bit…strange since Jackson moved to the village?"

"Paddy, you're talking about a twenty five year old gay man who dresses like a chav, who practically nobody knows is gay, who hardly ever goes out except to the local pub, who, as far as I know, has never had a boyfriend and who spends a large part of his spare time hanging out with a three year old child, not that I'm complaining about that bit in the slightest mind, but you're going to have to be a _little_ more specific when it comes to talking about his strange behaviour..."

Her husband snorted in amusement despite himself "Yeah okay, point taken. I just... It's just... Well he seems... He's been kinda... I don't know..."

"Thanks for clearing that up dear." Rhona chuckled.

"He's been… Happier!" Paddy blurted out.

"And again I ask: What's the problem?"

"I just don't understand it. He's been less moody, more cheerful; less argumentative, more obliging; less... Less Aaronlike!"

"I'm still failing to see anything wrong! I'd've thought that after all these years of trying to get him to grow up a bit you'd be happy he's not acting quite so much like a stroppy teenager as he normally does?"

"I am pleased! It's just... I'm worried about _why_! Haven't you noticed how he talks about Jackson? He's always on about how Jackson said this, and Jackson said that. Jackson did this, and Jackson does that..."

Rhona frowned as she considered Paddy's words. She hadn't really noticed Aaron talking about Jackson that much, but when she thought about it she realised that her husband was right. It was just that with Brennan extolling the virtues of Uncle Jackson left, right and centre, Aaron doing the same simply didn't register as unusual which it really should have... After all, Aaron never acted enthusiastic about anything, not even the things that she was certain he was enthusiastic about! Her eyes widened as she realised what it was that Paddy was getting at.

"You think he likes Jackson as more than just a friend?"

"I... I hope not, for everyone's sake. I don't know what it'd do to him to fall for someone who doesn't feel the same way back, but I'm sure it wouldn't be good."

Rhona grimaced at the thought. Aaron hadn't had an easy life, not by a long shot. Some of that was undoubtedly his own doing, but not all. Paddy had told her everything he knew about the young man's past... How his mother had abandoned him to the care of an abusive father who'd subsequently kicked him out; how he'd lived on the streets and got caught up in a local crime family's drug trafficking operations; how his mother had come back into his life only to leave him with Paddy as she chose some guy she'd been having an affair with over her own son... It had all left him damaged, self-loathing, untrusting and uncaring of others.

It had taken extreme circumstances and Paddy's unwavering love and loyalty to begin to turn the younger man's life around, but even so he still struggled with his demons. He may come across as hard and tough, but Rhona knew that underneath it all Aaron was a kind, caring and sensitive man, she only had to watch him with her son to be sure of that.

No... It certainly would not be good if Aaron were to finally allow himself to fall in love, only to be rejected. He may not openly display the wounds that that would cause, but he would suffer and bleed nonetheless, and who knew what results such pain would have on the fragile new life he'd been trying so hard to build for himself. Much as she loathed the thought, particularly now she was so happy with Paddy, she couldn't help but feel that maybe it would be better if Aaron were never to fall in love, for if he chose unwisely the anguish he'd suffer would most likely destroy him.

"What are we going to do?" she murmured quietly, half to herself, half to her husband.

"Pray that I'm wrong?" Paddy suggested gloomily.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of feet hurrying down the stairs followed by Brennan's voice drifting in from the sitting room.

"Aaron! Are you gonna watch Lion King with me?"

"Not this evening mate, I'm on me way out. It's just going to be you, your mum and yer dad tonight." the mechanic replied.

They couldn't quite make out their son's response to that and, given the way that it caused Aaron to laugh, they were both quite glad not to.

As the young man entered the kitchen he spotted the couple sat looking seriously at him from the kitchen table and abruptly did an about face. Before he could take two steps however Paddy was calling him back.

"You're looking very smart… You off out?" the older man asked in what he wrongly thought was a casual tone of voice.

"Yeah." Aaron replied eyeing the vets suspiciously.

"Woolpack?" Rhona enquired with a smile.

"No, town." the mechanic frowned at them.

"Ah right... You going with Adam?"

"No." Aaron growled, his frown turning into a scowl as the pair at the table glanced at one another, sharing a look that he couldn't decipher.

"Oh okay... Jackson then?"

"No! If you must know," the mechanic ground out as he glared at them "I'm going to Bar West. That's unless you're planning on interrogating me all night?"

Both husband and wife's eyebrows had shot up at the announcement.

"No no!" Paddy exclaimed sounding excited "You get yourself gone! Go have fun!"

"Urm... Okay." Aaron pulled a face at the suddenly beaming smiles being directed at him "Bye then. Don't wait up." and with that he was out the door.

The two vets just looked at each other in surprise for a few moments.

"Well!" Paddy breathed a sigh of relief "Looks like maybe we were worrying over nothing! Guess he's not that interested in Jackson after all if he's out on the pull!"

"Yeah..." Rhona agreed "Maybe we should try praying to win the lottery next!"

-x-x-

It was the first weekend after pay day and Bar West was heaving, crammed full with people looking to enjoy their swollen bank balances before everyday necessities took their toll. The upholstery on the seats was different, the walls were a different colour and most of the faces were different, but apart from that, the place hadn't really changed all that much since he'd first walked through the doors all those years ago Jackson thought. He could still remember it like it was yesterday.

At seventeen he'd been underage and nervous as hell about being found out. That, on top of it being his first visit to a gay bar, had him scuttling for the darkest corner he could find where he'd spent the next ten minutes trying to calm down as he took in his surroundings. He'd been in a few pubs with his dad when he was younger and this was most certainly nothing like any of those. Where they'd been quiet, calm havens populated by serious looking middle aged men, this place was buzzing, filled with music and the laughter of the many young people milling around chatting, drinking and playing pool. It was everything he'd hoped it would be.

Finally plucking up the courage to try his luck at the bar, Jackson had managed to get served a bottle of lager without being asked for ID. He was glad that he hadn't bothered to have a shave in a couple of weeks in anticipation of this night. Managing to get himself a beer made it worth putting up with his mother's jokes about looking like a moulting hedgehog! He'd seen a few guys that he wouldn't have minded chatting to, but was just too shy at that point, so he'd spent the rest of the evening on his own, people watching and listening in to the conversations going on around him, trying to pick up a few hints as to what gay people talked about.

He'd come a long way since then and thankfully tonight he wasn't on his own, he was out with Joe, his oldest friend and the only one of his so called mates who had stuck with him after the accident; Joe's boyfriend Dan who he'd gotten to know pretty well during the numerous times the couple had come to visit him over the years; David his friend and business partner; and Kevin and Murray, his two best mates from Leeds who were treating this rare trip out of the city in the same way that a Victorian explorer might have treated a journey into the wilds of Africa.

They'd been out for a couple of hours and the night was going well. They all had a good few drinks under their belts, everyone seemed to be getting on okay and the busy atmosphere of the bar was just adding to the enjoyment of the group. Jackson had forgotten just how much fun he used to have on nights out and he was really glad that Joe had nagged him into it now.

"So Jackson," Kev grinned across the table at him slyly "Tell us about this straight boy you've got the hots for!"

"What's this?" Joe demanded immediately perking up "You been holding out on the gossip Jacko? How very rude!"

"How the hell do you know about that?" Jackson asked Kevin in surprise, he hadn't mentioned Aaron to any of his mates knowing full well that the resulting questioning would make the Spanish Inquisition look like a school spelling test.

"Ohmygod so it's true?" Murray exclaimed excitedly "Tell us everything this instant! This is the most exciting thing to happen in like...forever!"

"It really isn't!" Jackson sighed, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"Hah!" Kevin snorted "Jackson Walsh, Master of Sensible, getting a crush on a hetero? I think you'll find this could only be more juicy if you'd fallen for a girl!"

"I have not fallen for him! He's just a mate!" the contractor glowered at his friends.

"You go about snogging all your straight mates do ya?" David enquired raising one eyebrow.

Jackson could only stare speechlessly at his partner with his mouth hanging open.

"I think it just managed to get juicier!" Dan burst out laughing.

"How? Who? What?" Jackson finally managed to splutter. Then light dawned. "You've been talking to my mother!" he snapped pointing an accusing finger at David. She was the only person apart from Aaron that knew what had happened that night, and David was the only one of his friends that she was likely to have talked to.

"As if!" the builder exclaimed "Your accusations wound me!"

"Really?" Jackson asked suspiciously, confused as to how else people could've found out about his private business.

"Absolutely… 'Talking to' would imply that I could get a word in edgeways!" David smirked.

"I knew it! I'm so going to kill her next time I see her! Wait a minute…" the contractor suddenly went pale "She's… She's not turning up here tonight is she?"

"Nah, she's stuck in Peru I think it was, can't get back until next week at the earliest… Or at least that's what she said!"

"Enough about your mother! Dish the dirt on this bloke Walsh! We want to know everything!" Murray demanded.

Jackson put his head in his hands, knowing that there would be no peace until he gave them something at least.

"He's just this guy who lives in the village-" he began.

"He's the mechanic that works next door to his new house, Jackson likes watching out the window as he's bending over fixing engines." David supplied conversationally.

"I _never_ said that!" Jackson protested as Joe stuck his fingers in his mouth and let out a wolf-whistle

"Hazel said that it was implied…" his partner replied innocently.

"Okay fine, so I might glance outside occasionally." he admitted grudgingly as everyone laughed "ANYWAY… He's really nice, and one night-"

"The first day they met…"

"Will you please stop doing that? I ain't telling this story if you're going to keep interrupting!"

"Well tell it properly then!"

"One night," Jackson said with a scowl "We got drunk, ended up at mine, we kissed, fell asleep on the sofa and he left the next morning. We talked about it and now we're just mates. End of."

His friends all sat silently for a few moments digesting what they'd been told.

"So was he a good kisser? What's his body like? Do you think if you got him drunk again you might be able to get him into bed?" Murray blurted.

Jackson groaned as everyone else took that as their cue to bombard him with questions. Giving up any hope of the subject being dropped he resigned himself to answering as best he could without totally embarrassing him. After about ten minutes of being quizzed, Dan apparently took pity on him and offered to get a round in. The ordering of drinks distracted everyone enough that other topics of conversation were picked up and he was thankfully allowed to go back to trying his best not to think about Aaron. He really wished that he was there though; he wasn't exactly sure when it had started to feel odd being on a night out without the mechanic.

"You will never guess what I've just seen going on at the bar!" Dan said eagerly to Joe as he returned with a tray or drinks.

"Do I want to know?" his boyfriend replied sounding apprehensive.

"Kill Phil is chatting up Mr Unattainable!"

Joe snorted into his pint and shook his head in amusement "I wondered when he'd finally make a move! He's been eyeing him up for months!"

"I think he was ready a while back but then MU stopped coming in. But he's back now and Phil's really laying on the charm. It's quite disgusting to watch to be honest." Dan replied with a look of distaste.

"You wouldn't be saying that if he was directing it at you!" Joe laughed.

"Pah! As if I'd have anything to do with that monstrosity! I've got everything I could want right here babe!" Dan answered with a wink which had Joe rolling his eyes, but smiling with it.

"Who are we talking about? What's going on?" Kevin queried "Stop talking in code you two!"

"Sorry... We nickname the regulars." Dan said sheepishly "Mr Unattainable's like one of the hottest guys who comes in here, yer tall, dark, incredibly ripped and handsome type, but totally down-to-earth with it. To look at him you'd never think for a minute that he was gay which I think just makes him even more attractive to a lot of people... Everyone seems to want him but nobody's been able to get him... Hence the Mr Unattainable thing. The most anyone's managed is a few dates but it never works out. My mate Chris was with him for a bit, says that he's on some sort of mission to find Mr Right or something, but nobody's measured up so far, he either ends it or whoever he's with gets bored of waiting for him to put out… I feel kinda sorry for him to be honest, he's dead nice but people seem to expect him to act like a slut just because he's good looking."

"And what about… Kill Phil was it?" Murray asked.

Dan pulled a face "Now he is a slut. Total lady killer… Only he's not after the ladies obviously. Again, dead good looking but he totally knows it and thinks he's better than everyone else. He's a predator… Finds out what people are looking for then pretends to be what they want just to get them into bed, then once he's had them he kicks them to the curb and moves on to the next one. The sad thing is that even when people know what he's like he still manages to convince a lot of them that they're special and they just go along with it!"

"My boyfriend everybody, the David Attenborough of Bar West." Joe said with an exaggerated sigh.

"So what do you think's going to be the outcome? You think Mr Unattainable's going to fall for it?" David asked.

"Probably, knowing Phil." Dan shrugged "He's practically been stalking him to find out what buttons he needs to press to get what he wants. I can only hope that Aaron has the sense to see through his act otherwise he's going to get screwed in more ways then one."

Jackson almost choked on the pint he'd been drinking "Aaron?" he spluttered.

"Oh, yeah, that's Mr U's real name." Dan answered.

The contractor stared at his friend for a moment his mind racing. He relaxed slightly deciding that he was being stupid, after all Aaron was a pretty common name. It was just a weird coincidence that they'd ended up talking about two people called Aaron in the course of a few minutes. There was just no way that _his_ Aaron was gay, the man had told him so himself that he wasn't... Only now he thought back on it... No, Jackson frowned, Aaron had never said anything all about his preferences in that department, he'd always just assumed he was straight.

He suddenly felt sick as he remembered the mechanic smiling up at him that morning they'd woken up together on the couch... Sleepy blue eyes had focused and Aaron had still been smiling at him, it was only a few seconds later that his face had fallen. What would the younger man have seen from his point of view? Jackson could remember exactly how he'd felt on discovering his situation... He'd been terrified, scared that Aaron was going to flip out and beat him up... If you woke up to someone looking at you like that would you be able to keep smiling?

All the little looks that he'd caught Aaron giving him, all the excuses the mechanic had found to spend time with him, every minute he'd spent in the younger man's company suddenly took on a whole new perspective if he turned all his assumptions on their head. _Promise me that you won't judge me based on what I look like or what you hear about me?_ Aaron's words came back to him... He'd promised not to and had then carried on doing exactly that anyway!

Licking nervously at dry lips Jackson asked Dan something he feared that he already knew the answer to.

"Er... What does this Aaron look like?"

"I told you, tall, dark and handsome." Dan smiled at him in puzzlement.

"No, I mean describe him..."

"Urm... I guess he's a little taller than Joe, pretty muscly, short dark hair, kinda cropped at the back and sides but a little longer and spikier on top... Err... Stubble... Oh, and he's got these really intense blue eyes..."

"FUCK!" Jackson shouted, slamming his fist down on the arms of his wheelchair.

"Hey! Jacko! What's the matter?" Joe asked worriedly, reaching out a hand to rub his friend soothingly on the arm.

Jackson just sat there staring into space with his hands pressed to the sides of his head, looking like he was going to cry.

"Jackson?" David asked nervously "Jackson what's wrong?"

"Dan?" the contractor gulped "Your mate Chris... He didn't happen to mention if this Aaron was a mechanic did he?"

"Err... No I don't think..." Dan replied, his brows furrowing in thought "No wait... Actually yeah, he said he works in a garage in some village near... Oh..." he tailed off as everyone around the table put two and two together.

"Are you saying," Kevin asked carefully "That the incredibly hot bloke who's currently being chatted up at the bar by an apparently irresistible sexual predator, is in fact the supposedly straight guy who kissed you and then spent the next month doing his best to spend as much time with you as possible, and who you happen to have a massive crush on?"

Jackson could only nod mutely.

"Well what the bloody hell are you doing over here you muppet?" Kevin yelled throwing his arms up in the air "Get your arse in gear and go rescue him for god's sake!"

-x-x-

Aaron had arrived at Bar West a little before nine o'clock. Getting here had been an absolute nightmare. The bus had been over a quarter of an hour late, then he'd only been on it for five before it got stuck behind a tractor in one of the narrow lanes just outside the village. Half an hour later they finally got out from behind the desperately slow vehicle only to get stuck in a traffic jam caused by an accident on the main road into Hotten. All in all it had taken nearly an hour and a half to get into town and then to top it all off he'd been stopped by a couple of police officers carrying out random searches for drugs. By the time he got to where he was going he was thoroughly sick of the whole night and wished that he'd stayed at home to watch the Lion King with Brennan. He could've done his Scar impression and everything.

Still, he was here now so he may as well have a drink, it was more appealing than getting straight back onto the bus. The place was packed and he had to practically shove his way to the bar, his polite 'excuse mes' just not cutting it in the rowdy atmosphere. There was no way he was going to find himself a seat with all the people that were crammed in, so when he'd finally managed to get himself a pint he lurked at the end of the bar, trying to keep as much out of everybody's way as possible.

The intention had been to find a bloke to talk to, to take his mind off of Jackson, but now he really wasn't in the mood. He wasn't that great at being sociable at the best of times, though he was nothing like as bad these days as he used to be, but after the horror ride getting here he was more in the mood for a quite drink. Fat chance of getting anything quiet in here though! 'Mind you,' he thought to himself 'The alternative really doesn't bear thinking about!' He had to smile as he remembered his first trip to a gay bar...

He'd been eighteen and hated the fact that he was gay. But that hadn't stopped the irresistible need to go and see what it was like to be gay out in the world, away from Emmerdale and anyone who knew him. He'd had all these ideas in his head of what he thought a gay bar would be like... Sordid, disgusting, men doing... Stuff all over the place. And, in all honesty, he'd wanted all that to be true so that he could continue to justify the loathing he felt.

Aaron had looked online and found that there were a couple of gay bars and one gay club night in Hotten. He'd decided on Bar West given that he knew where exactly it was having passed it the time with Eli that had started this whole thing off. He remembered standing on the other side of the road looking across at the pub, and just as he'd finally plucked up the courage to go in, Ryan and Andy had suddenly appeared and he'd bottled it. He'd walked away and had been heading back to the bus stop when he recognised the name of one of the streets he had to cross... Glenvale Road... That was the road that The Bull was on, the other gay bar on his rather short list.

Making a split-second decision the mechanic had turned down the street, found the pub and walked straight in without a second thought. He'd gone out to see what a gay bar was like and he was damn well going to have a look. What he'd seen hadn't impressed him. The place could only be described as dingy, it was like a darker, charmless version of the Woolpack. He'd bought a pint from the large fat man behind the bar and then taken a proper look around. Quite as the grave, peeling paint, nicotine stained ceilings, sticky carpet, and the majority of the patrons appeared to be middle aged men who'd tried to dress like people twenty years their junior. And many of them were looking at him.

He hated people looking at him, but the way those men had stared had brought on an entirely new dimension to the horror he felt. He ended up practically downing his pint in one, but had then come to the unfortunate realisation that he really needed the toilet. He'd procrastinated about whether to go or not to the point where he was so desperate that he'd had no choice. Finding the men's easily, he'd been stood at a urinal relieving himself when he'd heard the door swing open and closed behind him. Aaron had stared straight ahead, resolutely ignoring the urge to check to see who was in there with him. He'd nearly jumped out of his skin when a breathy voice had whispered "Hi." in his ear.

The mechanic had turned his head to find a balding man with steel-rimmed spectacles smiling at him from just a few inches away.

"What's your name?" the man had asked in the same damp whisper he'd used before.

"Aaron." Aaron squeaked, his mind suddenly blank of anything else to say.

"Well now Aaron," the elderly man continued "I don't live too far from here... How would you like to come back with me for a drink? I can make it worth your while..."

He hadn't needed to hear any more. This was exactly the sort of thing that he'd expected. Stuffing himself back into his trousers he'd fled the toilet and the pub and legged it all the way back to the bus stop as fast as he could, swearing to himself that he would never, ever set food in another gay bar as long as he lived. The very idea of being like that man disgusted him. He was _not_ going to be gay under any circumstances. He'd gone straight home and...

Aaron crushed that thought before it could get going. He was not going to think about the rest of that night now, it plagued him enough as it was. Better to remember and laugh at how foolish and naïve he'd been to assume that, unlike all the straight bars and clubs he'd been to, all the gay ones would be the same sleazy dives as The Bull had been. He often wondered what his life would have been like if he'd gone straight home that night... Maybe he would've tried Bar West again and actually gone inside... Well it was pointless playing the 'what if' game, nobody could answer those questions.

Checking his phone he saw to his surprise that it was nearly ten, he'd been lost in thought and nursing his pint for the best part of an hour! Draining his glass he decided to have one more and then head off home. It wasn't the evening he'd planned but there wasn't really any way of salvaging what was left of it now.

"Let me get that for you." a friendly voice spoke loudly to his right, carrying clearly over the noise of the music and people having fun.

Aaron glanced over in surprise as a ten pound note was thrust towards the barman that had just brought across his now unexpectedly free drink. Smiling green eyes looked back at him from a very handsome face topped with spiky blonde hair.

"Hey. I'm Phil." the man said holding out a hand.

The mechanic shook it automatically "Err... Aaron." he offered in response.

"Please to meet you Aaron." Phil replied giving him a dazzling smile "Sorry, the pints the least I can do."

"Ya what?" Aaron asked in confusion.

"For taking up some of your space... I couldn't find anywhere to sit and there was this bit of empty bar next to you so I grabbed it, hope you don't mind too much."

"Oh, er no, it's okay."

"Thanks! You on your own?"

"Er yeah."

"Cool, me too... Well I was with a couple of mates but they copped off with the first blokes that looked at 'em" Phil informed him, pulling a face as if his own words offended him "I dunno why they do it, really I don't. They go home with a different bloke practically every night. Can't see the point in that myself."

"So why are you mates with them?" Aaron asked.

"Well they're good guys apart from the whole bed-hopping thing, and that doesn't really involve me... Except when they go off early like tonight I supposed. But it's their choice to do that and it's mine to wait to find someone special. They respect that so I can at least do the same for them."

"Fair enough." the mechanic shrugged as he took a long swallow of his beer.

"So what do you do Aaron?" the blonde man asked.

"I work in a garage."

"Awesome!" Phil replied excitedly "I'm a complete car nut. I just got an Audi R10! Best car I've ever had, goes like a bomb!"

"Must've set you back a bob or two!" Aaron said sounding impressed which brought on another one of those dazzling smiles.

"I'm as stockbroker... I know, boring as crap but it has it's perks!"

"You call a hundred thousand pound sports car a perk?"

"I never said it was a small perk!" Phil answered shyly.

"I don't feel quite so bad about you buying me that drink now!" the mechanic laughed.

The two men continued to chat and drink, and joke and drink, and laugh and drink, and before Aaron knew it he was pretty drunk and he'd missed the last bus home.

"Crap! I'm really sorry mate!" Phil said sounding genuinely apologetic on hearing the news "I shouldn't've kept you talking all this time! My friends always tell me that I don't know when to shut up!"

"No no no!" the mechanic grinned happily "I've enjoyed talking to you... Or listening to you talk maybe I should say! It's been ver ver interesting!"

"Really? I thought I might've been boring you going on about relationships and falling in love and everything... Most guys run a mile at the word commitment!"

"I feel the exact way what you said! I'm saving meself for someone special, don't want any old random man!" Aaron exclaimed swaying slightly "Just need to find me someone that feels the same, then woo! Happy days for Aaron!"

"Well... There's always me..." the blonde man murmured looking across at Aaron through his long sandy-coloured eyelashes.

The mechanic stared at him blankly for a second before his face split into a huge grin.

"You like me?"

"Yeah... Yeah I do. A lot actually... I've never felt like this about anyone after such a short space of time."

"Well then we should do this again!"

"I'd like that." Phil smiled happily "Now come on, let me get you a taxi before you fall over and hurt yourself."

"You don't have to do that, you've been buying me drinks all night! If anything it should be me getting _you_ a taxi!" Aaron laughed.

"I only live a few streets away so I just walk home... Hey... Why don't you come back to mine for a coffee, sober you up a little? Don't want you throwing up on the ride home and having to pay a fine or anything!"

"Nah... Don't want to put you out, you probably want to be getting to bed not making me drinks!"

"It's no trouble! Or you could crash in my spare room? Save you the trip tonight?"

"I dunno..." Aaron said hesitantly.

"I'll give you a ride home in my hundred thousand pound sports car tomorrow..." the blonde man grinned and gave him a wink.

"Oh go on then!" the mechanic laughed heading towards the exit. Phil followed closely behind him smirking to himself with smug satisfaction.

-x-x-

"Shit shit shit shit shit." Jackson chanted to himself under his breath "Excuse me please... I SAID EXCUSE ME PLEASE!"

He was getting nowhere fast. The place was so packed that it would've been hard to move if he'd been on two legs, on four wheels getting to the bar was proving to be nigh on impossible. He couldn't stop thinking about Aaron... There was just no way that his Aaron and the gay Aaron that Joe and Dan knew were different people! He couldn't believe he'd missed it! If only he hadn't been so scared, maybe things would've been different... Why did his life have to have turned out this way?

It was easy now to admit to himself how he felt about the mechanic, he was falling in love with him! He'd tried his hardest not to but it had happened anyway. And he was sure Aaron felt something for him... He'd seen it in the younger man's eyes again and again and he'd told himself he was deluded, unable to believe that Aaron was gay... Part of him screamed that he'd known all along and what he truly hadn't been able to believe was that Aaron could possibly have any interest in him. After all, why would such a stunning young man want to be with a, a, a... With a cripple?

Deliberately ramming into someone who was refusing to get out of his way he felt a grim satisfaction at seeing the scowl they turned on him transform into apologetic shock as they realised he was in a wheelchair... 'Cripple my arse!' he thought 'I can get things done!' There were more important things right now than worrying about his insecurities, he had to stop Aaron making a huge mistake! If he slept with that Phil guy and was then unceremoniously dumped what would that do to him? Jackson didn't know, but from what his friends had said Aaron was trying to find someone special... If he was tricked into believing he'd found him and then betrayed... Jackson shuddered at the thought or how painful that would be.

Was he someone special to Aaron? What if it turned out that the younger man really did only want to be his friend? "What if? What if? What if?" he muttered "Just shut the fuck up and deal with that when you get to it!"

Jackson broke out of the crowd and found himself on a sort of balcony overlooking the main floor and the bar. He couldn't believe it... In his hurry he'd gone the wrong way! Yes this was the quickest way to get to the bar from where his group had been sat, but only if you had working legs to go down the set of stairs in front of him! The ramp up to this part of the pub was in the opposite direction. He contemplated pulling his wheely stunt but there were seven steps here rather than the three outside the Woolpack... He'd end up flat on his face if he tried it! Tears of frustration were forming in his eyes as he looked out across the room.

It was then that he saw him.

"AARON!" he yelled as loudly as he could at the young man walking towards the exit "AARON WAIT! PLEASE!" but it was no use, the music was so loud he could hardly hear himself, there was no way that Aaron would be able to hear him all the way across the other side of the room... Jackson gasped as he realised that Aaron wasn't alone! There was a blonde man following him, he was too close to just be some random guy also heading for the exit, something which was confirmed a second later when the mechanic turned to say a few words to him and he threw back his head and laughed at whatever it was.

Jackson pulled himself upright using the balcony railing and leaned out as far as he could "AARONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!" he screamed one last time even though he knew it was pointless. All he could do was watch, willing the younger man to turn around and see him. But he didn't. Without a backward glance Aaron disappeared through the door leaving Jackson in the crowded bar feeling more alone than he ever had in his entire life.

-x-x-

Aaron's eyes fluttered open, a moment's confusion clouding his mind as he took in the unfamiliar sun-soaked bedroom he found himself in. Warm breath blew gently across the back of his neck causing goosebumps to erupt across his naked body. He shivered slightly and the strong arm draped across his waist tightened, drawing him more firmly against the muscular chest he could feel pressed against his back. The events of the previous night all came rushing back and he smiled blissfully as he drifted back off to sleep, feeling a happiness he could never have imagined burning within him like fire.


	7. Chapter 7

_Rated M for general naughtiness, and possibly ZZZ for excessive lengthiness._

_Part 7_

8 hours earlier...

Glistening with perspiration, Aaron and Phil's naked bodies writhed on the heavy cotton sheets, loud moans of pleasure echoing off the walls as their hips ground together and tongues duelled in a fiery, passion soaked kiss. The blonde man tore his mouth away and grinned down at his prize, taking in Aaron's heavy lidded eyes, pupils dilated with lust, the lush mouth with it's kiss-swollen lips parted as he gasped for breath, his muscular chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to get oxygen back into his system.

Phil couldn't resist lowering his head to lick and nip and tease a sensitive nipple, the mechanic gasping and whimpering at his expert ministrations. He allowed his hands to roam over smooth, supple skin, his mouth following their path down across the tight ridges of abdominal muscle, clever tongue briefly flicking out to tickle Aaron's navel before wrapping itself around the tip of his straining erection. The mechanic cried out as he was engulfed in intense wet heat, his hips bucking uncontrollably as Phil's head bobbed up and down, faster and faster, building the pleasure to unbearable levels until finally it was too much and Aaron exploded into his mouth crying out as he did so... "OH GOD! OH GOD! OH... JACKSON! JACKSON... Jackson? Jackson... Oi! Jackson! Anyone home?"

Jackson shook his head to clear the dreadful images that had been assaulting his mind as he stood draped over the balcony rail staring at the door that Aaron had disappeared through five minutes ago.

"Er...Jackson?" Joe said for the sixth time "You okay? Where's Aaron?"

"Gone." the contractor moaned as he allowed himself to slump back into his chair, looking up at his friend who'd come to check on him "I saw him leave with that Phil guy... I went the wrong way and couldn't get to him!" he finished gesturing despairingly at the stairs that had barred his way.

"Aww mate!" Kevin commiserated as he came up on the left and lay a sympathetic hand on the contractor's shoulder "Hey... They might just've gone out for a bit of air, we could go take a look?"

"You think?" Jackson asked hopefully, glancing around to see that all his friends had come to stand with him. Unfortunately the looks they were giving one another at his question pretty much confirmed his worst fears... If Phil had got Aaron to leave with him it wasn't so that they could stand about outside. He groaned and put his head in his hands.

"Come on, I think you could do with another drink." Murray said kindly "Lets get you to the bar."

"Thanks guys, but if it's all the same to you I think I'm just gonna head home, I don't really feel like staying in here any longer." Jackson replied. How could what had started off as one of the best birthdays he could remember, turn out so utterly depressing?

"Erm... I think you might want to reconsider that plan actually!" Dan said excitedly.

Five pairs of questioning eyes turned on him and he pointed towards the far side of the room with a huge grin. The other men turned but only two of them understood.

"I hate to come across as dense but what the hell are we supposed to be looking at?" David asked as he scanned the crowded pub.

"Er yeah... Have I missed something?" Kevin agreed eyeing Jackson who was staring across the dance floor, his mouth hanging open in shock.

"Over there!" Joe exclaimed indicating a man who was pushing through the crowd at the bar "That's Aaron!"

"Seriously?" Murray yelped "You're right about him being hot Jacko... Wouldn't mind a rummage in that mechanic's toolbox myself!" he added, earning himself a withering glare from his friend "Okay okay, I get it, hands off! So... You think he forgot something or what?"

"Or what by the looks of it," Joe answered "He's buying himself a drink! Lets get you over there Jackson!"

That was easier said than done however. The group looked around to find themselves boxed in, the whole balcony area and the stairs up to it crammed with revellers. Joe only managed to squeeze down one step before he was rebuffed by an impenetrable wall of bodies. He glanced forlornly back over his shoulder at Jackson, an apologetic shrug all he could offer his best mate who returned to gazing hopelessly at where Aaron stood at the bar beyond his reach.

Jackson wracked his brain in an effort to figure out what to do. Ten, maybe fifteen metres, that's all that separated him from the one thing he wanted most in the entire world. If only he could walk he'd be straight over that rail and shoving his way across the floor... He snorted to himself at that, if he was going to go down that route he may as well wish for a pair of wings so that he could fly across the room to Aaron! Behind him he could just make out his friends muttering to one another over the noise...

"...don't be daft..."

"...pointless! It's too busy we'll never..."

"...think it's worth a try..."

"...right! We have to do something..."

"...nearly finished, if we're lucky..."

"...count of three then..."

He wished they'd shut up, as if the loud music wasn't distracting him enough from trying to come up with some sort of plan! He cursed his body for being so broken and useless, cursed the bouncers for letting in so many people that he could now hardly move, and he cursed the universe for being so cruel... To give him someone to fall for who he'd think was straight, to finally let him discover that that person was in fact gay after all and quite possibly interested in him, only to have them snatched away by another man, then, to top it all off, to give him an unexpected second chance but to place him in a situation where he couldn't act... It felt like someone was playing some nasty game with him!

"One!"

Why couldn't Dan just be quiet for thirty seconds?

"Two!"

Seriously, if the man wasn't going to be helpful he could at least let the rest of them try to think.

"Three!"

There was a sudden lull in the music as the song that had been playing came to an end and the DJ came on over the speakers to wish someone who was getting married the next day good luck from all his mates.

"AARON!"

Jackson jumped in fright as quite possibly the loudest noise he'd ever had the displeasure of sitting right next to rang out across the room as the five men around him all yelled together at the top of their lungs. He glared up at them in annoyance only to find himself in the middle of a circle of excitedly pointing fingers, none of the owners of which were paying him the slightest bit of attention, they were all grinning madly over the top of his head. Joe spared him a quick glance, eyes widening in surprise to find Jackson staring at him with a scowl.

"Why you gurning at me! You're meant to be reeling in lover boy!" the man said with a jerk of his head towards the bar.

Jackson's head snapped round to peer through the balcony railings and his heart leapt to see that Aaron was finally looking their way, eyeing up his mates in bewilderment. He wondered what the younger man must be thinking to have five strange men all screaming his name, and then to find them all smiling at him like idiots as they pointed to something that he most likely couldn't see properly... Probably that he was the butt of some sort of stupid joke knowing Aaron. Indeed, the mechanic's look of confusion was turning into a grimace of annoyance as he regarded the scene.

For the second time that night Jackson grabbed the railing and hauled himself upright, this time praying that Aaron _wouldn't_ turn around. As he popped up into view he knew that he'd been seen and recognised... If the mechanic's jaw had dropped any lower he'd be picking it up off the floor!

-x-x-

After the heat of the crowded bar Aaron was thankful for the coolness of the night air as he stepped out onto the pavement. He couldn't suppress a shuddered of revulsion as an arm was thrown across his shoulders and Phil tried to steer him off down the road.

"You cold mate?" the blonde man asked "I'll soon get you warmed up!"

Aaron shrugged off Phil's arm and angrily turned to face the other man.

"Do you think I'm thick or something?" he growled, all signs of drunkenness gone from his voice "You know as well as I do that you're not my mate."

Phil gaped at him in surprise "I… I dunno what you're talking about. Come on, let's go back to mine yeah?"

"I ain't going anywhere with you!" Aaron snorted.

"But you said! You said you'd stop at mine!"

"Yeah, and you said that you were looking for something special with someone… Guess that makes us both liars doesn't it?" the mechanic sneered.

"I never lied!" the blonde protested.

"Oh give me a break! Did you seriously think you could try your little mind games on me and I'd just bend over and take it? Save it for some unsuspecting mug that's new to the place! For Christ's sake! I've been coming here for _four_ _years_! How could you possibly imagine I wouldn't know exactly how you operate?" Aaron asked incredulously.

"Why'd you spend half the night talking to me if you weren't interested eh?" Phil replied slyly "Come on... You know you want me, stop playing hard to get."

The mechanic laughed "I was interested alright, but only in seeing your little act for myself. It was very good I must say, you must've spent ages doing your research! All that stuff about yer sports car and relationships and saving yourself for the right guy? It might actually've worked… If I didn't know that you work in a shop and hadn't seen you driving around in an eight year old VW Polo last week! Oh, and not forgetting that I've had to spend the last few years watching you cop off with a different bloke every week! And yeah, I've seen how you treated them afterwards. Oddly enough I have no desire to end up as just another notch on your bedpost!"

The two of them stood in silence, the blonde man scowling furiously at Aaron, all pretence gone. After all, there wasn't really a lot he could say in his own defence, the mechanic had him bang to rights and they both knew it.

"Whatever." Phil snarled "I only went for you 'cause I felt sorry for you! You're pathetic you know that? Sad little Aaron moping about, waiting for his dream man to happen a long? You're a joke! I was doing you a favour!"

"You reckon that trying to convince me that you were this 'dream man' just so's you could get me into bed and then kick me out the next morning would be doing me a favour?"

"Yes! You need a reality check mate! Don't you get it? There is no Mr Right! He doesn't exist!"

"You trying to convince me or yourself? Maybe you're right, maybe there isn't anyone special out there, but so what? I'd rather live in hope than turn into someone like you! You say I'm pathetic but at least I don't need to go around tricking people into having sex with me just so's I can feel good about myself!"

"FUCK YOU!" Phil screamed in the mechanic's face.

"I think we've established that that's never going to happen." Aaron snorted in response before spinning round and heading back into the pub. He needed a drink after that.

The night had most certainly not gone as planned! It was supposed to help him forget about his feelings for Jackson, but so far it had failed miserably. Phil had started off as an amusing distraction at first, but his attempt at playing the perfect man had quickly become uncomfortable. If he hadn't been enjoying seeing how many free drinks he could get out of the ridiculous situation, Aaron would have shot him down long before it had gone as far as it did. The most disturbing thing about it had been that there really wasn't anything wrong with Phil's act - he portrayed himself as everything that the mechanic might ever want in a man... Only, quite apart from the fact that Aaron knew and loathed him for what he was, he'd been totally unsuccessful in being the slightest bit interesting as a prospective partner.

Maybe a month ago it would've been a different story, but now Aaron couldn't help but compare every guy he met to Jackson, and none of them even came close to arousing the feelings in him that merely thinking about the older man could provoke. Talking with Phil had brought on the unwelcome revelation that he'd already met the perfect man, and that man was straight! He couldn't decide whether the thought of it should make him laugh or cry. It just seemed so utterly typical of his life.

Deciding that if he couldn't forget about them, he should just try to drown his sorrows instead, he elbowed his way through the throng around the bar and ordered himself a drink. Sipping at his beer he allowed the noise of the music and the crowd to wash over him, trying fruitlessly to stop his mind wandering on to what had become it's favourite obsession... Why why why why why did Jackson Walsh have to be his ideal man in every way but one? Why couldn't he have been fit but boring? Or he could've been mean. Or nice but with the sex appeal of a brick... Why did he have to turn out to be the loveliest, sweetest, funniest, most gorgeous man on the entire planet but straight along with it? As if he didn't punish himself enough for the mistakes he'd made in the past, the universe obviously wanted to twist the knife it had stabbed him in the back with a little more.

The mechanic had just resigned himself to spending the rest of his evening wallowing in self pity when he'd heard his name being shouted across the dance floor during a lull in the music. Looking over he was surprised to see a group of strangers waving frantically at him. He thought he might recognise a couple of them but he was pretty sure he'd never laid eyes on the rest before. When they saw that they had his attention they all grinned madly and started pointing down. He scowled at them in response. He had no idea what they wanted but whatever it was he wasn't interested… Five drunken idiots standing about pointing at their crotches were unlikely to be people that he'd get on with.

Aaron was just about to turn away, irritated by their intrusion, when a pair of hands grabbed the edge of the balcony in front of the group, and the very person he'd spent most of his evening thinking about popped up like the most unexpected jack-in-the-box in the word. The mechanic could only stare in shock, unable to believe his eyes as Jackson stood looking nervously back at him, leaning heavily on the rail for support.

His first instinct was to panic. Jackson was here! That meant that he was going to find out that he was gay if he hadn't figured it out already! As if being caught quite obviously on his own in a gay bar wasn't giveaway enough, he remembered where he knew two of the older man's mates from. They were friends of a guy he'd been on a few dates with a while back, they'd even all had a drink together in here once… There was no way that they wouldn't tell Jackson about it!

Aaron wanted to run away and hide but that wasn't really going to help now, he would've had to have done it a month ago when he'd first met Jackson for it to make any difference. No, he was just going to have to man up and accept that he'd been found out, and if Jackson was revolted by the fact that a gay guy had kissed him then he would just have to try his best to deal with the hurt, though he had absolutely no idea how he'd even start going about doing that.

Jackson didn't look disgusted or upset though, in fact he was grinning like a loon. And what was he doing in a gay bar anyway? Aaron felt a sudden rush of hope. Could Jackson be… No... His friends must've dragged him there for some reason. He could remember perfectly the look of horror on the contractor's face that morning they'd woken up together, that had not been the look of someone that was pleased to have spent the night in another man's arms. Then again though, Jackson had told him later that he'd been scared of how _he'd_ react to their having kissed… What if he'd jumped to the wrong conclusion and just assumed that the older man was disgusted with what had happened when all he'd been was afraid? Aaron worried constantly about what Jackson would think if he found out that he was gay, could Jackson possibly have been having the same concerns?

Aaron realised that he was still staring across the room with his mouth hanging open. He must look like a gormless idiot but Jackson was still beaming at him. It was quite possibly the biggest, happiest smile he'd ever seen in his life, and even in the dim light the mechanic could swear that it was a smile full of hope. Was it the same hope that he could feel welling up inside him as he met the older man's gaze? The need to know one way or the other suddenly burned inside him and he practically leapt away from the bar and onto the dance floor, pushing desperately through the crowd, heedless of the shouts of annoyance as he trod on toes and elbowed people out of the way.

Reaching the far side, Aaron looked up to find Jackson smiling softly down at him and he couldn't help but smile back, despite the fact that he was more nervous than he could ever recall being in his entire life which was saying something. That the older man's five mates were all also leaning over the rail watching him wasn't helping matters. He hated being the centre of attention at the best of times, and currently he was completely unsure of himself and how this was going to turn out. But there was only one thing that he wanted to do more than run home and barricade himself in his room right now, and that was to find out exactly how Jackson felt about him. In an ideal world they'd be alone for this, but he was all too aware that the world was far from ideal so he'd just have to make do.

Taking a deep breath the mechanic grabbed hold of the lower half of the railing that circled the balcony and, feet scrabbling for purchase wherever they could find it, heaved himself upwards until he finally tumbled over the top to land in an ungainly heap on the floor next to Jackson. Flustered at his complete failure to make a dignified entrance, Aaron sprang upright, blushing furiously as he brushed distractedly at his jeans, too embarrassed to look the older man in the eye. Now that he was here he was suddenly too scared to ask the questions he desperately wanted answers to.

-x-x-

The man was just too cute for words Jackson thought as he watched him standing there awkwardly, apparently finding his shoes to be the most interesting things in the entire world just now. To have charged across a crowded room, scaled a small wall and thrown himself over a balcony rail to reach him, only to end up staring at the ground lost for words was so typically Aaron. Jackson just wanted to wrap his arms around the younger man and never let go. It was strange... To look at him, the last thing most people would imagine Aaron could inspire were feelings of protectiveness, but then most people only saw as far as the tough face the mechanic usually displayed. He, on the other hand, had been privileged enough to see what lay beyond the hard man act, and the shy vulnerability that he recognised was currently radiating off Aaron made him itch to hold him and keep him safe.

He was sure that he knew what the problem was; knew why, after his dramatic entrance, Aaron had clammed up. Jackson felt great, but then he had the advantage over the younger man. He knew for a fact that Aaron was gay, and he was also pretty sure that the mechanic would like to be more than just his friend. Aaron on the other hand may suspect that he was gay but he couldn't know for sure, after all, it was perfectly possible for a straight man to have gay friends he went out with. For his own sake as well as for Aaron's it would be a lot easier just to put the younger man's mind at ease.

"I know you're gay." Jackson began and winced slightly as he saw Aaron flinch at the words, obviously preparing himself for bad news or trouble "I am too."

There, it was all out in the open. He thought that he'd feel relieved but he didn't. Apparently it was his turn to feel nervous and awkward... What if he was wrong about Aaron wanting to be more than friends? Would he be able to cope with just being mates? They'd end up coming here together and he'd have to watch men hitting on the mechanic, then, just as he had earlier when Aaron had left briefly with Phil, he'd end up tormenting himself with thoughts of what those men were doing to the person he wanted for himself... He felt a little light headed at the thought and quickly had to lower himself back into his wheelchair. Holding himself upright for all that time after the amount he'd had to drink wasn't the wisest thing he'd ever done.

"You okay?" Aaron asked anxiously, kneeling down in front of him and placing a hand gently on his knee.

The contractor smiled at the younger man, please that his little moment of panic had at least got Aaron to look at him. Unfortunately, it also appeared to have worried the mechanic to the point where he was ignoring Jackson's revelation about his sexuality in favour of showing concern. It was sweet but the older man _really_ wanted to know where they stood. Deciding to lay all his cards on the table, Jackson reached out and took Aaron's hand in his own and finally got to let everything he'd been feeling show as he gazed into the deep blue eyes before him.

"I am now that you're here." he murmured just loud enough for the younger man to hear.

Aaron glanced back and forth between Jackson's face and where their fingers lay twined together, with a slightly nonplussed expression. The older man held his breath as he waited for some kind of reaction that would let him know how the mechanic felt about his declaration. He wanted to grab Aaron and shake him and demand to know what he was thinking, but instead he just sat there in silent agony as the seconds ticked by.

"You... You er like me?" Aaron finally asked, his brows creasing in puzzlement. Jackson's heart plummeted to the pit of his stomach; that was not the reaction that he'd been hoping for. It was too late to back out now though.

"Urm... Yeah. Well, I like you a whole hell of a lot actually." he replied.

Aaron stared at him intently for a few moments before his face lit up like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. Jackson's stomach did a back flip at the sight, it had to be one of the most glorious things he'd ever seen, and the words which accompanied it some of the most welcome he'd ever heard.

"I like you a whole hell of a lot too!" the younger man breathed.

The two men grinned happily at one another, each contently basking in the knowledge that despite everything they'd spent so long convincing themselves of, the other felt the same way.

"Oh for god's sake!" Dan's voice intruded on the moment "We get it, you're both crazy about each other, now put the rest of us out of our misery and kiss him!"

Jackson had completely forgotten that his friends were all there watching them, and from the look of surprise that flashed across his face, Aaron had too. The mechanic's smile was replaced with one of his best scowls as his attention moved from Jackson to someone behind him.

"Oh don't look at me like that!" Dan snorted "Unless you're going to tell me that you don't want to kiss him?"

Jackson was impressed. He would've expected his mate to have been reduced to a little smoking pile of ash after the glare he'd received. Aaron must've been thinking the same judging from the confused expression he was now sporting, and the older man had to try very hard not to laugh.

"Hey..." he said, giving the mechanic's hand a small squeeze to get his attention. Aaron immediately looked at him and his face melted into an adoring smile that had Jackson's heart pounding in his chest "Do you not want to kiss me?"

The younger man's eyes widened and his gaze flicked down to Jackson's mouth. He unconsciously licked his lips, an action that almost made the contractor groan as he imagined all the other things that that tongue might do.

"I err... Urm... I... Well..." Aaron stuttered, apparently thinking that it was a serious question rather than what Jackson had thought to be a quite blatant invitation.

"Oh come 'ere you div!" the older man sighed fondly.

Jackson's free hand found the back of Aaron's neck and pulled him forward until their mouths met. There was no further hesitation from the younger man and Jackson felt like fireworks were exploding in his brain as Aaron's soft pliant lips began to move against his own. The kiss began as a gentle dance, each man tentatively exploring the other, but soon neither could hold back the weeks of hidden longing for a moment that they feared would never come again. Jackson felt rather than heard Aaron moan, the low vibrations running through his body and the younger man was suddenly assaulting his mouth with unbridled ferocity. His own passions igniting, he kissed him back just as desperately, tongues raking across one another and teeth clashing as hands ran through hair or clutched at firm muscle through clothing. There was nothing else in the universe apart from Aaron... The people, the bar, the town, the country, the entire planet melting away leaving nothing but the awesome, heady sensation of feeling the man he was falling in love with clutched in his arms. It was the most intensely pleasurable experience of his entire life... If this was what kissing Aaron was like then what would... He refused to finish that thought, not wanting to get his hopes up. The mechanic wasn't about to jump into bed with him after one kiss!

After what seemed like hours the two of them broke apart gasping for breath. Aaron rested his forehead on Jackson's shoulder for a minute before raising himself just enough to whisper in the older man's ear.

"Take me home?"

Jackson couldn't hide his shock... He thought at first that maybe his most recent thoughts had caused him to read more into the request than was intended, but seeing the heated look that Aaron was giving him he was quite certain that he hadn't. The younger man wanted to sleep with him.

"But, but, but..." he stammered "I thought you were looking for something special... Some_one_ special?"

"Err... I was." Aaron replied.

"So what changed?" Jackson demanded.

"Nothing!" the mechanic answered with a puzzled frown.

"So what? I'm just something to pass the time until Mr Right turns up? Thanks a lot!" the older man snapped angrily. Brilliant, just when he found someone he really, really liked who he thought would be interested in a proper relationship, that person had apparently decided that they'd just go with anyone they shared a quick kiss with!

Aaron's eyebrows had shot up at his outburst and now he was looking at him like he was an idiot.

"You're an idiot." the younger man confirmed, shaking his head as a small smile played across his lips "Why don't you try using your brain? I know you've got one 'cause you're like ten times smarter than me!"

Jackson scowled at the mechanic as he replayed the conversation... Aaron wanted to go to bed with him after their kiss, he'd thought Aaron was looking for someone special, Aaron confirmed that he had been but apparently wasn't any more though he'd also stated that nothing had changed... Oh...

"You're saying that I'm someone special?" he asked hesitantly, scared that he'd come to the wrong conclusion.

"Well done! Gold star for Mr Walsh!" the mechanic exclaimed, rolling his eyes as he patted him on the shoulder.

"But we've only had one kiss if you don't count that night at mine! How can you decide that I'm special after just one kiss?"

Aaron was giving him the 'You're an idiot' look again.

"Jackson... We've had the equivalent of like forty dates over the past month! I know they weren't actual dates but do you seriously think that after all that time I don't know how I feel about you? I knew you were the one for me the first time I saw you, and every minute we've spent together since then has just made me more and more sure! The only problem was that I thought you were straight! Now I know you're not I don't want to keep pretending that you're just another mate... I want you... All of you..."

Jackson's head was in a spin... He really did feel like an idiot now! For some reason he hadn't really thought that the last few weeks had meant all that much to Aaron, that it was only he who had fallen for the man he'd been spending so much time with. He'd figured that the mechanic liked him but he'd been expecting to have to work at turning 'like' into something more, but apparently he'd done all the work necessary without even realising it! He could hardly believe that someone like Aaron wanted someone like him, but it was all there plain as day on the younger man's face... The desire and the longing that mirrored what he was certain was written all over his.

"God I want you too." he whispered hoarsely.

"And you can have me!" Aaron murmured against his lips just before briefly kissing him again "Now why don't you get those wheels in gear and take me back to yours where you can do something about it!"

Jackson couldn't help but laugh at the eagerness in the mechanic's voice. He could barely remember the last time someone had shown the slightest desire to take him home, let alone the excited enthusiasm that Aaron clearly had for the idea. He'd forgotten just how good it felt to be wanted as anything more than a friend, and thoughts of what the two of them could do once they were in private raced through his mind.

"Urm guys?" he said turning to his mates who were all stood in a little group watching him and Aaron with keen interest "We're er... We're going to head off." he finished feeling his cheeks heating furiously under their knowing smirks. There was absolutely no way that his friends didn't know exactly what he and the mechanic were leaving to do.

"I'll bet you are you lucky devil!" Kevin grinned "Don't say we never get you anything nice for your birthday!"

"It's your birthday?" Aaron asked "You never said! I would've got you something!"

"I'm sure you can give him something when you get home!" Dan laughed causing the mechanic to turn crimson.

"Yeah, have fun unwrapping your present Jacko!" Murray added with a wink.

"Okay, okay! Enough with the birthday humour guys!" Jackson admonished "I'll see you all soon. Enjoy the rest of your night, I know that'll be hard without me around but try your best yeah?"

"Pfft!" Joe snorted "We won't even remember you were here in five minutes we'll be having so much fun!"

"Whatever you say mate! Try not to cry into your pint through missing me!" the contractor laughed.

Turning his chair to head towards the ramp that led to the exit he found his way blocked but someone stepping into his way. Looking up he grimaced to find Phil standing there with his arms folded across his chest.

"Well, well, well. Isn't this a touching scene?" the blonde man sneered as he looked around at the group "I must say Aaron, I would've thought that even you could've done better than this... Whatever this is." he said looking down his nose at Jackson with distaste.

"Didn't you get the message outside?" Aaron snarled as he stepped protectively in front of the contractor.

"Yes well, I thought I'd give you a chance to change your mind. And quite frankly I'd think that you'd be grateful given what you seem to have had to settle for." Phil replied, leaning to the side to peer around him at Jackson "I mean honestly... A cripple? You don't need to stoop to a pity fuck you know, you can still come home with me."

From the way the younger man tensed up Jackson thought that Aaron was going to deck the blonde, but after a few seconds he seemed to get a hold of himself and relaxed slightly.

"I could lift up a rock and find five things I'd rather find in my bed than you!" the mechanic stated which raised a laugh from a number of people who'd stopped to listen in on the unexpected entertainment.

Phil narrowed his eyes, obviously not pleased about being mocked so publicly.

"You owe me!" he spat at Aaron "I could've had anybody in here but I chose you! So why don't you stop playing this stupid game and come with me eh? You've had your fun and made me work for it, now it's time to go. You're not getting another chance after this!"

Jackson had had enough. It took an awful lot to piss him off but Phil seemed to have managed it with very little effort. Pushing Aaron out of the way he wheeled himself forward to glare at the arrogant blonde man.

"Don't you get it?" he yelled "He's not interested in you! He doesn't even like you! Why don't you just take the hint and fuck off and go bother someone else?"

"Piss off wheels!" Phil laughed "If you think he'd rather be with you than with me then it's not just your legs that don't work!"

"You just can't handle the fact that I get to take him home and fuck his brains out can you?" Jackson smirked.

"Speaking of which, can we _please_ go back to yours soon!" Aaron groaned next to him.

"Fine!" the blonde man snapped "Go ahead and do that, just you remember that he'll be thinking of me whilst you're doing it!"

"I'm sure if Aaron wants to throw up he can just stick his fingers down his throat rather than picturing you naked." the contractor replied mildly.

Phil's face twisted with rage and he stepped forward glaring fixedly at Jackson, his hands balling into fists. Jackson felt a wave of panic building inside him... This could not be happening, not here, not now. He couldn't stand it again... But then Aaron was suddenly in front of him, once more blocking the other man.

"You want to get to him you'll have to go through me first," the mechanic growled menacingly "And believe me, that's not something you'll enjoy."

Jackson couldn't see the look that Aaron was giving Phil, but it stopped the blonde man in his tracks.

"I don't get it... He's a fucking cripple!" Phil whined "What the hell does he have that I don't?"

"A heart, decency and me." Aaron stated simply "Now are you going to get out of our way or do you want me to go tell the bouncers about the nasty crap you've been saying? Think you're going to find it hard enough to pull in here now as it is without getting yourself barred to boot."

Phil glanced around, surprise registering on his face as he noticed the large crowd that had gathered, drawn by the argument, the people all glaring at him with undisguised disgust.

"Don't say I didn't give you a chance!" he barked before spinning on a heal and storming off.

"Oh lucky me." Jackson heard Aaron mutter sarcastically under his breath "So!" the younger man exclaimed cheerfully turning towards him "I believe you were saying something about taking me home and... Urm... Err..." he tailed off looking adorably embarrassed.

-x-x-

The taxi ride back to Emmerdale passed pretty much in silence. Aaron seemed to be lost in a world of his own as he stared out of the window at the darkened countryside flashing by, and to be honest, Jackson was glad to have the time to sort out his own head. A few hours earlier he'd gone out as, if not a happily single man, then at least one who was resigned to the fact. Now all of a sudden he had the one thing he'd wanted most of all and he was feeling a little overwhelmed. He kept stealing surreptitious glances at Aaron, half expecting each time to find that the younger man wasn't really there and that he'd imagined the whole thing. But no, the mechanic was quite definitely real and they were quite definitely on their way back home with apparently every intention of having sex. And he still couldn't believe it.

Part of him couldn't wait, wanted to rip Aaron's clothes off him right now and have his way with him here in the back of the cab, driver be damned. A larger part of him though was absolutely terrified. Never before had there been this much pressure when taking someone home for the first time. He wasn't one to sleep with someone on the first or second date, and usually not on the third, forth or fifth either, but once he felt that he got on with someone, and there might be something there worth pursuing, they'd take the next step. With Aaron though, they'd spent so much time together not realising that each of them wanted the other, that his feelings for the younger man had grown way past that getting to know you stage. In fact, he already felt more for the mechanic than he had for any of his previous boyfriends and they hadn't even begun to explore the physical side of their relationship yet. What if they were to find that they didn't click in the bedroom?

Jackson knew perfectly well that there was more to a relationship than sex, but months spent paralysed from the neck down had a way of making you appreciate the act that maybe others wouldn't necessarily understand. It may not be the be all and end all but it was important, and it felt even more so when you were on the cusp of falling in love with someone... How would a disappointing experience affect that?

That was another concern... He hadn't exactly been a Don Juan before the accident, but afterwards he could count on one hand the number of times he'd ended up in bed with another man. He was most definitely out of practice. What if he didn't meet Aaron's expectations? Again, if they'd just been on a few dates before sleeping together it might not be so bad, but he could tell from the way the younger man looked at him, and from what he had said in Bar West that Aaron was just as emotionally invested as he was. How would he react if their first time was... Less than spectacular?

Worrying about that brought all his paranoia about his broken body flooding to the surface... Yeah Aaron hadn't given his legs a second glance when he'd seen them that morning in the swimming pool, hadn't seemed to care when he'd grabbed hold of them as he hiked him over his shoulder, but it might be different when they were naked together. There were things he couldn't do... Positions they'd never be able to try... What if his limited repertoire wasn't enough to satisfy the younger man?

"We're here." Aaron said softly dragging him from his thoughts.

Looking round he was surprised to see that the taxi had pulled up outside Dale Head and Aaron was paying the driver what they owed. In no time at all it seemed, the car had pulled away leaving the two of them alone on the side of the road.

"So... Here we are." Jackson said, realising it was a ridiculous comment to make as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He was more nervous than he'd thought.

"Yeah... This is here alright, and that's most definitely where we are." Aaron rambled glancing about as if he'd never seen the village before. Jackson was glad that he was obviously not the only one on edge.

"Are you sure that you want to do this?" he asked the mechanic, half dreading that he'd say no, half that he'd say yes.

Aaron let out a long breath as he regarded the cottage in front of them for a moment.

"I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't bricking it!" he finally replied with a snort "But... Well, yeah I'm sure. I've wanted to do this from the moment I turned around and saw you sitting on my forecourt... I just... I don't want to disappoint you."

Hearing his own fears coming from the younger man's lips startled a surprise laugh from Jackson which earned him a bewildered frown from Aaron.

"Sorry, didn't mean to laugh!" the contractor apologised "It's just that I spent the whole journey back here worrying about disappointing _you_!"

"Don't be a div!" the mechanic answered, giving Jackson his increasingly familiar 'You're an idiot' look "You could never disappoint me."

"You can't know that." the older man grunted.

"Yeah I can." Aaron retorted.

"How?"

"Because I happen to have very low expectations of you." the mechanic smirked.

Jackson stared at the grinning younger man and after a second burst out laughing, all the tension that he'd been building up inside flowing out of him in a matter of moments. This was what he needed to hold on to he realised. So long as he remembered that he and Aaron were good together, that they could joke and laugh and make fun of one another and not care because they were friends before anything else, then it didn't matter how things went tonight because in the morning they'd still have each other. 'And if the sex is bad,' he thought to himself 'Then we'll just have to do it again and again and again until it's good.' He liked the idea of that a lot.

"Let's get inside shall we? It's a bit nippy out here!" the contractor said, wheeling his chair towards the door. Aaron followed him without argument and they were soon in Jackson's living room.

"You fancy a drink?" the older man asked.

"Er... No I'm good ta." Aaron replied.

"So um you just want to go upstairs then?"

The mechanic looked shyly down at the ground as his cheeks turned pink and he gave a small shrug.

"Come on then Mr Keen!" Jackson laughed and manoeuvred his chair over to the stair lift.

"You know," he said looking thoughtfully up at Aaron "It'd be a lot quicker if, say, you were to... I dunno... Throw me over your shoulder and carry me up?"

"I thought you didn't enjoy that?" the younger man asked, amusement evident in his voice.

"Weeell... I did get a very nice view... Go on, why don't you show me what a big strong man you are?" Jackson replied fluttering his eyelashes.

Aaron shook his head and rolled his eyes but was unable to stop himself from grinning and he bend down and scooped the older man up.

"Happy now?" he queried as he began to climb the stairs.

"Very!" Jackson responded as he took the opportunity to finally give Aaron's bum a squeeze. It was just as firm as he'd hoped it would be... He just wished that there wasn't a layer of denim in the way so that he could have a proper look, and maybe a quick nibble he thought smiling wickedly to himself.

"Erm... What you doing?" Aaron yelped as the older man's hands reached around his waist and began fiddling blindly with the buttons of his jeans.

"Nothing you need concern yourself with!" came the contractor's muffled response "The bedroom's the last door at the end of the landing... Bring the chair along in case I need it in the night please."

By the time Aaron reached the bedroom he was having to shuffle along because his jeans were around his ankles.

"So where d'you want me to put you?" he asked as he flicked on the light and dragged Jackson's spare wheelchair over to the side of the bed.

"Um... Just one second!" Jackson answered.

He'd been amusing himself on the short journey by watching Aaron's muscular buttocks flexing beneath the thin, tight material of his boxer shorts, but now they'd come to a stop he couldn't resist the urge to make one of his little fantasies reality. Chewing on his lower lip in anticipation he took hold of the waistband of Aaron's underwear and slowly peeled them down. He couldn't suppress a choked whimper as the fabric moved aside to reveal two perfect globes of pale flesh.

"You having fun back there?" the mechanic asked wryly.

"Mm-hmm." the older man confirmed.

Jackson lightly rang one finger across the smooth skin, entranced as the muscles twitched at his touch and goosebumps rose in it's wake. Leaning in he picked a particularly appealing spot and nipped lightly at it with his teeth, satisfaction flooding through him as Aaron's body shuddered and the younger man moaned in appreciation. Spurred on by the positive reaction he continued to bite and suck at his chosen spot, soothing away any slight pain with small kisses and gentle swipes with the tip of his tongue. By the time he was happy with the small dark bruise he'd branded Aaron with, the mechanic was breathing heavily and his legs were trembling.

"You can put me down now if you like." the older man said, smugly surveying his handiwork. He was tempted to get a biro and write 'Jackson was here' next to it for good measure.

Aaron stepped forward and deftly deposited his burden onto the bed, self-consciously rearranging his underwear as he stood back up. Jackson looked up at him with a smile, watching him fidget nervously with the hem of his t-shirt as he stood there with his trousers around his ankles, apparently unaware of the fact that his boxers were doing little to disguise his arousal.

"So er... What happens now?" the mechanic said anxiously, peering shyly at Jackson through lowered eyelashes.

"Well... The usual I guess!" the older man laughed.

"Urm... And err... What might that be exactly?" Aaron asked looking embarrassed.

Jackson stared at him blankly, his mind racing as Aaron's question and obvious discomfiture sank in. He wasn't sure he was understanding correctly... It sounded like...

"Are you saying that you're... That you've never... That..." he couldn't quite find a delicate way to put it but Aaron clearly knew what he was asking because he'd turned crimson and was staring resolutely at the carpet nodding his head slightly.

"What? Never?" the contractor couldn't stop the incredulous tone from creeping into his voice.

"Not with a man." the mechanic muttered.

"But with a girl though yeah?" Jackson asked and was relieved when Aaron nodded in confirmation, but the relief was short lived.

"Twice. Ages ago." the younger man supplied.

To say that he was shocked by the revelation was an understatement. He'd assumed that looking the way that he did Aaron would've had a string of conquests under his belt, either male or female, but apparently he'd again made the mistake of judging him based on his appearance. Twice... That even made his own recent track record look reasonably impressive. The mechanic's worries about disappointing him suddenly made sense... Aaron had no idea what he was doing. Not that it mattered, it was just that at the age of twenty eight Jackson had really not been expecting to be someone's first. Hell, as far as he was aware he'd never been anyone's first! It was like looking out the window to find a unicorn eating from the bird table... Surprising didn't begin to cover it.

"You said you knew I was looking for someone special." Aaron said defensively.

"I... Yeah but... Well I thought that just meant for you're next relationship you were looking to settle down, not that you'd never... I mean wow... I wasn't expecting... It's just..." he tailed off lamely.

"I should go." the mechanic mumbled as he stooped to pull his jeans back up.

"NO!" Jackson practically yelled as he darted forward to grab Aaron by the wrist "No, please don't go... Stay. It was just a bit of a shock is all... I'm really honoured that you want me to be your first. Also terrified at the responsibility but yeah, mostly honoured!"

Aaron was watching him uncertainly and, deciding that he needed to be a bit more convincing, Jackson allowed himself to fall backwards on the bed dragging the younger man over on top of him. He smiled at the startled look on Aaron's face and wrapped his arms around him, drawing him down fully so that he could kiss him. It only took a few seconds of effort on Jackson's part before the mechanic was kissing him back with a passion, all thoughts of leaving forgotten.

-x-x-

Aaron couldn't believe that it was actually going to happen. After all the years of waiting and searching, finally he'd found a man he felt he could truly trust and, against all the odds, that man wanted him in return. It was completely mad that Jackson had just randomly turned up in Emmerdale of all the places he might have moved to, but the mechanic had no intention of looking a gift horse in the mouth.

He was so nervous it was untrue, but he knew that Jackson would take care of him, he only had to look the older man in the eye to see how much he cared. It was kinda scary to have someone look at him that way, to see his own feelings reflected back at him... He didn't feel like he deserved them but they were there nonetheless, and he was damned sure he'd do his best to keep hold of them. Fucking this up was not an option.

As Jackson pulled him down to the bed and kissed him, all his worries and insecurities drifted away and he could do nothing but feel. Strong arms wrapped around him and he felt safe, protected from all the pain and anguish that life could throw at him. That sense of connection between them was stronger than ever, and again he was overwhelmed by that feeling that they were two halves of the same person finally reunited, a part of himself that he hadn't even realised he'd been desperately missing back where it belonged. The older man had asked him if he was sure that this was what he wanted, and whilst he was still scared, that feeling of being complete told him everything he needed to know. Jackson was the one.

Jackson was also wearing too many clothes. In fact they both were... He needed to fix that. Pushing himself off the bed the contractor started to protest at his sudden departure and Aaron couldn't help but grin as the complaints suddenly dried up as he toed off his shoes and socks, kicked his jeans off from about his ankles and quickly stripped off his t-shirt. He was pleased to see the older man ogling his body unashamedly... The boring hours he spent in the gym or doing laps in the swimming pool keeping himself in shape for when his perfect man came along didn't seem to be quite such a waste now. He was glad Jackson liked what he saw because now it was his turn to have a perve!

Grabbing the older man's legs he yanked his trainers and socks off before diving onto the bed to wrestle with his belt. He was just making progress when Jackson grabbed his hands and held them tight.

"Wait! Stop!" he pleaded.

Aaron froze, afraid that he'd somehow hurt him.

"Can you... Could you turn the lights off please?" Jackson whispered.

"Why?" the mechanic asked, frowning in confusion

"I'd just prefer it is all." the older man replied unconvincingly.

"But... I want to see you." Aaron replied, his cheeks turning pink at the admission.

Jackson grimaced and Aaron knew that he'd said the wrong thing, but he couldn't figure out what it was about his remark that was an issue, if anything he thought that the older man would be pleased.

"Jackson... Tell me what's wrong... Please?"

The contractor huffed out a breath and stared at the ceiling.

"I don't want you to see my legs." he admitted quietly.

"Why?" Aaron asked again, trying to understand.

"Because they're useless and ugly and I hate them!" Jackson spat, glaring angrily at the younger man.

-x-x-

He regretted it the moment he'd snapped out the words in such a venomous tone. It had been going so well up until Aaron had started undressing him. Caught up in seeing the younger man stripping off in front of him, blatantly drinking in the sight of that toned muscular body he'd dreamed about seeing like this, he'd pushed the fact that he'd be expected to follow suit from his mind. It hadn't taken long for the reality of the situation to come crashing back though, and with it all his insecurities about his body.

Aaron recoiled from his outburst, a hurt look in his eyes as he regarded him. Jackson hadn't intended on upsetting the younger man, he'd just panicked at the thought of being so exposed, but that was no excuse for the tone he'd used. It wasn't Aaron's fault that he had these issues, and the mechanic had no way of knowing what the problem had been without asking... If their positions had been reversed he knew that he'd be wanting to know what was going on if Aaron didn't want him to see him naked. He felt awful.

It felt even worse when the younger man silently got to his feet and went and switched off the light. He'd got a brief view of Aaron's strong back, gorgeous bum and thick sturdy legs before the room was plunged into darkness. He hadn't really considered that without the light on he wouldn't be able to see what Aaron was hiding in his boxer shorts, wouldn't be able to watch him writhing on the bed as they made love, wouldn't be able to look him in the eye as he came... Was he really going to miss out on all that just because he felt ugly? After all, Aaron seemed to like him just the way he was. Even as that thought made itself known he heard the younger man's voice coming from the bed next to him.

"Sorry," the mechanic whispered "I didn't realise you felt that way. I know it probably doesn't make any difference but, well, I think you're beautiful... I couldn't keep my eyes off you this morning when you were playing in the pool with Bren. The women sat next to me even thought we were a couple 'cause of the way I was drooling over you... But if having the light on makes you feel uncomfortable then this is fine..."

If Jackson had thought that he'd felt bad before, it was nothing to how he felt now. He was supposed to be making this an enjoyable experience for Aaron not some angst-ridden obstacle course. It should be him trying to make the younger man feel relaxed and happy, not the other way round! With a sigh he leaned across the bed, stretching his arm out and searching around until he found what he was looking for and clicked on the bedside lamp. The mechanic looked at him in surprise, not expecting him to turn a light on after he'd just made such a fuss about wanting one turned off.

"Compromise." Jackson explained "It's not as bright... I'm really sorry I bit your head off, you really didn't deserve it. I guess I'm more sensitive about what the accident did to me than I realised."

"You don't need to apologise." Aaron said softly as he reached out a hand to caress Jackson's cheek "I just want to be with you, lights on or off it doesn't matter."

"Yeah well, I think I prefer having the light on come to think of it... The view's much better." the older man murmured as he let his eyes roam across the younger man's body.

Aaron leaned over to kiss Jackson gently, his hand sliding round to run through the short curly hairs on the back of the contractor's head, drawing a quiet moan from the older man as he revelled in the affection he could feel pouring off the mechanic.

"So are you going to get undressed now?" Aaron breathed in between kisses.

Pulling away slightly Jackson quickly unbuttoned his shirt, slid it off and let it drop over the side of the bed. Then, before he could let his doubts get the better of him again, he snapped open his belt, unfastened his jeans and pushed them off along with his underwear. Practically throwing himself flat on his back he closed his eyes and struggled to control his breathing as he waited for Aaron to make some sound of dissatisfaction or revulsion at the sight of him. Instead there was a throaty growl and the next thing he knew the younger man had pounced on him and rough hands seemed to be running across every inch of skin they could reach. A warm, moist mouth descended on his own for a brief moment before working it's way down his neck, across one shoulder, onto his chest making him gasp as a tongue teased one nipple before moving on to his stomach and lower...

Jackson risked opening his eyes at that point, peering down the length of his body where he could see a head of cropped dark hair moving inexorably closer to his rapidly swelling erection. He sucked in a sudden breath at the rasp of a stubbled chin scratching across the sensitive skin at the top of his thighs and let his head drop back down onto the bed with a moan of frustration as the mechanic completely bypassed where he really wanted that mouth to go just now.

The sensations changed as Aaron's ministrations moved down his legs, the feel of lips against his skin becoming more diffuse the further down the thighs he travelled until all that Jackson could detect was a pleasant tingling. Nobody had ever done this to him before and he was surprised how good it felt, and even more surprised at the realisation that he didn't actually mind that Aaron was touching and presumably getting a good look at his legs. Maybe it was the fact that the younger man was the first lover he'd had since the accident that acknowledged that he even had legs let alone shown that he apparently rather liked them. He never thought that he'd feel this at peace with himself again, but obviously he'd never counted on meeting someone as special as Aaron was proving himself to be.

Jackson was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he actually jumped and let out a little shriek as his cock was suddenly engulfed in a warm wet mouth. He tried to glare down at the mechanic for shocking him like that, but given how amazing he was feeling he didn't think he pulled it off. Bright blue eyes sparkled mischievously up at him and he groaned as a strong tongue twisted and slithered up, down and around his shaft.

"Are you sure you've never done that before!" he gasped.

"Oohsnniv. Mm nin o oog mmema." Aaron replied causing Jackson to burst out laughing.

The mechanic allowed the older man's erection to slide out of his mouth and dragged himself up the bed so that he could look down into Jackson's eyes.

"Hey." he said with a smile.

"Hi." Jackson replied in amusement.

"Am I doing okay so far?" the younger man asked a slight edge of worry in his voice.

"You're doing fine... Better than fine actually! In fact, you're doing so well that I think you deserve a reward." the contractor answered with a smirk.

Before Aaron could respond Jackson wrapped his arms around him and with an agile twist of his body flipped the younger man over on to his back so that their positions were reversed. Leaning down he plundered the mechanic's mouth with his tongue until they were both breathless.

"Wow!" Aaron gasped "I could get used to rewards like that!"

"That wasn't the reward!" Jackson replied with a smirk before sliding down the bed, hooking his fingers into the waistband of the younger man's boxers as he went and then peeling them off. Sitting back he took a few moments to bask in the fact that he finally had Aaron stretched out naked in front of him and that it had most certainly been worth the wait. The man was certainly... Nicely proportioned, Jackson thought to himself with a smile. And the way that he was blushing furiously and fidgeting with the duvet as if he had _anything_ to be embarrassed about was absolutely adorable. Still, he could only look for so long without touching and tasting and that time was most definitely up!

-x-x-

Aaron could feel his cheeks burning as he lay there in the buff with Jackson staring at him with a sort of intense, smouldery look in his eyes. Nobody had ever looked at him like that before... Like he was the centre of the whole universe... It was turning him on even more than he was already which he wouldn't have said was possible a couple of minutes ago, but it was also kind of embarrassing! He supposed that he was okay looking if you liked that sort of thing, but he didn't feel like he deserved the scorching gaze that the older man was raking up and down his body.

Jackson on the other hand... Now there was a body worthy or that sort of attention. His mouth had gone completely dry when the contractor had stripped his clothes off. All that toned, sinewy muscle and tanned skin laid bare before him, every inch of him as gorgeous as he'd imagined. More so in some areas he'd smirked to himself. He'd felt like a little kid on Christmas morning, waking up to find a huge pile of presents waiting for him and completely unable to decide which to tackle first. In the end he'd given up and just waded in and tried to do everything at once. He didn't really have any clue as to what he was doing but from the noises Jackson made he figured he must be doing something right. And the reaction when he'd plucked up the courage to go down on him... Well, he was quite pleased with himself over his first attempt.

Now though it was Jackson's turn to do whatever he felt like doing to him and he was literally shaking with anticipation. He was so excited that he prayed he'd be able to make things last more than a few seconds... Actually, the thought of how mortifying that would be was helping matters and he breathed a small sigh of relief. That was until he felt a warm rough hand stroking his chest and gently pinching at his nipples. God... Was that a whimper? Yes it was! He'd just whimpered! And again... Ohhhh he really didn't care anymore, he defied anyone _not_ to whimper if they had a naked Jackson leaning over them doing... Things to them!

Aaron moaned in pleasure as a mouth joined the talented fingers teasing his body. Nothing had ever felt this good before and he wondered why he'd waited so long to experience it. Raising his head slightly he found chocolate brown eyes smiling up at him and found his answer right there. He knew in his heart that if it wasn't Jackson doing this to him there was just no way it would feel so amazing... It was the emotional connection he had with the older man bolstering the physical feelings that was making the experience so intense.

Jackson was working his way down and the mechanic couldn't suppress a giggle as the older man's beard tickled his stomach. Jackson paused for a second and then did it again making Aaron squirm as he laughed harder. Finger tips joined in, lightly running down his flanks and he couldn't help but shriek as the contractor started tickling him in earnest.

"Oh god! Jackson stop please!" the mechanic gasped in between bouts of laugher "Pleeeeeeeeeeease!"

"I didn't know you were ticklish!" Jackson grinned up at him from where he'd rested his chin on his stomach.

"I ain't!" Aaron pouted.

"Really?" the older man replied moving wiggling fingers towards the side of Aaron's ribcage.

"Okay! Okay! I'm ticklish!" the mechanic exclaimed "Don't you dare tell anyone!"

"Aww spoil sport!" Jackson laughed "And here was me planning on telling Pearl... I can just imagine it... 'Hey Pearl, you'll never guess what I found out when I had Aaron naked in my bed last night...'"

Aaron glared at him looking extremely unimpressed with the idea.

"No? Oh well, just a thought!" the older man teased and went back to kissing his way down Aaron's stomach.

The mechanic sighed happily and let his head flop back on the bed, but it wasn't long before he was squirming again, though this time from enjoyment as Jackson sucked and licked at the tender skin on the inside of his thighs. Spreading his legs wider to give the older man better access he figured he probably looked like a complete slut, but he really didn't care... If Jackson had told him to roll over and stick his arse in the air for him he more than likely would've done it, and done it gladly. It shocked him slightly to find himself feeling that way. He'd always found the idea of getting fucked rather terrifying, but right now he'd let Jackson do it in an instant, the thought of the older man taking him, possessing him in a way that nobody had before was arousing beyond belief.

The contractor seemed to sense how incredibly turned on he was becoming, as he intensified his assault, shifting his attention from Aaron's legs, to lap lightly at his balls for a few moments before trailing his tongue up the throbbing shaft of the younger man's cock. The mechanic cried out, hips bucking as Jackson took him in his mouth, sucking vigorously as he allowed his teeth to gently scrape across the sensitive head, tongue swirling around the tip as he sank down on the rigid column of flesh. Aaron felt himself sliding in and out of the older man's mouth again and again and again, each pass causing a coiled spring of ecstasy in his groin to tighten, racking up the euphoria to undreamed of heights. If it kept going he wasn't going to last and he didn't want it to be over yet, he wanted to experience more, wanted to give himself to Jackson in the most intimate way possible, show the older man just how special he was to him.

"Jackson stop!" he managed to grind out. It was quite possibly the hardest thing he'd ever had to say because he really, really, _really_ wanted what was going on to continue.

The contractor froze in place looking questioningly up as the younger man.

"You okay? I didn't hurt you did I?" he asked anxiously.

Aaron laughed breathlessly at the suggestion.

"No, it's just I was getting kinda close to... You know."

"I didn't realise that was a problem!" Jackson replied looking rather pleased with himself.

"It's not!" Aaron reassured quickly "It was... Well incredible! It's just that..." he tailed off not really knowing how to ask for what he wanted.

"It's what? Aaron, if there's something wrong just tell me. Please..."

"I... I... I want you inside me when it happens." the younger man mumbled, eyeing Jackson nervously as his face turned scarlet.

Jackson stared back at him with his mouth hanging open.

-x-x-

He was speechless. Absolutely gobsmacked. Dumbfounded, thunderstruck and mute. For someone that could quite happily talk pretty much incessantly all day, it was a bizarre experience. All he seemed capable of was flapping his jaw about as he boggled at Aaron. He'd been surprised enough to find that the mechanic had never been with another man, but this? This was off the scale of unexpected!

Admittedly he'd imagined fucking Aaron, dreamed of it on several occasions in fact, but he'd never taken it seriously, and not just because he'd thought the younger man was straight. No, if anyone would've asked him if he and Aaron were to end up in bed together, who would end up in what position, he would quite definitely have placed himself on the receiving end. You only had to picture the mechanic in his hoody and trackie bottoms, with his Alsation on a chain, and cocky agro attitude firmly in place to see why. The idea of Aaron on the bottom just didn't compute... Of course, that's what made the fantasies he had about it happening all the hotter!

To be faced with the possibility of fantasy becoming reality though...

"Are you sure?" Jackson managed to ask. Maybe he'd misunderstood, though he didn't see how that was possible, he couldn't think of any other way the younger man's words could be taken.

"Positive." Aaron replied shyly "I want you so badly right now it almost hurts!"

"Oh..." well that was a pretty definitive answer the contractor decided "That's okay then." he wished he'd been able to think up something cooler to say than that.

Rolling over to open his bedside draw, Jackson rifled desperately through the contents looking for the tube of lube that he was sure he'd put in there for just such occasions as these. Hopefully it hadn't all dried up through lack of use he thought ruefully to himself. Finding what he was looking for he rolled back to face Aaron who was watching him curiously.

"Lube." he explained waving the tube vaguely at the younger man.

"Right." Aaron said with a nod "What's that for?"

Jackson found himself staring at the mechanic speechlessly for the second time in five minutes, unable to figure out where to start to explain. It took him a second to notice the way that one corner or Aaron's mouth kept twitching as though he was trying very hard not to smile.

"Oh very funny!" he snorted, smacking the younger man on the arm as he burst out laughing.

"Your face!" Aaron panted between chuckles "If only I had a camera!"

"Well how am I supposed to know what you know and what you don't?" the contractor pouted sulkily.

"I know the er... Theory... Just need some help with the practical." the mechanic grinned.

"Hmph. Not sure I'm in the mood for a lesson anymore." the older man sniffed.

"Oh well, in that case I'll just get some sleep instead." Aaron sighed, and with that rolled over onto his front.

Jackson was left with a perfect view of the younger man's muscular backside and decided that enough was enough. Uncapping the lube he squeezed a generous portion onto a couple of his fingers, then proceeded to reach down to slip them into the crease between Aaron's buttocks causing him to jump slightly and draw in a sharp breath.

"I thought we weren't going to be having a lesson this evening?" Aaron murmured, spreading his legs slightly to make things easier for Jackson.

"Think I can maybe bring myself to teach a quick one seeing as it's you." the contractor smirked, probing gently with his fingertips.

The only response he got was a loud moan which he took to mean that class should continue.

-x-x-

Aaron's brain felt like all his synapses had fused. There were flashes of lightening going off inside his head and he only seemed to be capable of one thought, and that was that he wanted more. He hadn't really been sure what to expect but his reaction to what Jackson was doing had surprised him. The older man had been toying with him for what felt like hours, slicked up fingers teasing him, sliding inside him, stretching him... It felt incredible and he was soon groaning his approval, but more than that he had actually begun to push back onto the invading digits, spreading his legs ever wider and angling his hips so that he could be penetrated deeper. He felt like he ought to be embarrassed about how he was shamelessly fucking himself on Jackson's hand but he wasn't, he was much too turned on and feeling too good and happy to care in the slightest. But yeah, he wanted more than just fingers inside him.

"Jackson?" he gasped looking over his shoulder at where the older man was stretched out on the bed next to him.

"Yeah?" Jackson replied distractedly, apparently having having trouble tearing his gaze away from the mechanic's hips rising and falling on the bed.

"I'm ready." Aaron croaked.

That drew the older man's attention. His eyes widened as he looked up into Aaron's flushed, sweat dampened face.

"You're sure? We don't have to..."

The mechanic moaned in frustration "Please Jackson!" he sobbed... Had he just begged Jackson to fuck him? He was pretty sure that he had. But if it helped get him what he wanted he was willing to do it again! Once appeared to be enough though because the contractor had grabbed the lube in one shaky hand a was squeezing the clear gel directly on to his erection... Aaron swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. Jackson's cock looked huge now that he was thinking about taking it inside of himself. It had seemed big enough before, but now that he knew what a couple of fingers felt like he was suddenly unsure he could handle it. He would try though, for Jackson. He knew that the older man wouldn't hurt him for the world.

"Lie on your side." Jackson murmured pulling himself further up the bed.

Aaron did as he was told and Jackson pressed himself up against him, one arm snaking under his body to wrap around his chest, the other reaching down to draw one of his legs up so that it stayed upright, bent with his foot locked against the knee of his other leg. He realised what the older man was doing and arched his back slightly so that his bum stuck out a little more, pleased with himself as he received a kiss on the back of his neck in acknowledgement of his initiative.

"You ready?" Jackson breathed in his ear.

"Yeah." he whispered in reply, not trusting his voice not to crack if he spoke any louder.

"Just relax, and if it hurts too much tell me and we'll stop."

Aaron breathed slowly and deeply as he felt the blunt tip of Jackson's cock pressing against his entrance, doing his best to relax as the older man had instructed. It was difficult though with the swirling maelstrom of emotions he was feeling raging inside him. Fear, excitement, desire, lust, expectation, worry all churned endlessly, but above all else there was something there he'd never felt before but which he knew instinctively was love. He cried out as the realisation that he was no longer falling, but had actually fallen in love with Jackson struck him at the same time that the older man penetrated his body. The contractor stopped moving thinking that he'd hurt him, but Aaron pressed back, impaling himself fully on his lover, the need to make that final, intimate connection eclipsing any discomfort he was feeling.

"You... Okay?" Jackson queried as he trailed kiss across the mechanic's shoulder and up his neck.

Aaron twisted his head round so that he could capture the older man's mouth in a searing kiss.

"I'll take that as a yes then shall I?" the contractor asked as their lips parted company.

"Jackson?" the younger man said.

"Mm-hmm?"

"Shut up and fuck me."

"Hmm... Definitely a yes!" Jackson laughed.

-x-x-

Glistening with perspiration, Aaron and Jackson's naked bodies writhed on the heavy cotton sheets, loud moans of pleasure echoing off the walls...


	8. Chapter 8

_Part 8_

Waking up in the morning was possibly his least favourite thing to do and today was certainly no exception. The rain he could hear drumming heavily against the window must have woken him he realised, as a low, sonorous rumble of thunder rattled the glass in its frame. Normally that would have cheered him up slightly - he loved a good storm when he was wrapped up all snug and warm in bed. But not today. No, today it had roused him from what was almost certainly the best dream he'd ever had, and he was not at all happy about it.

God but it had been a good one... So vivid that even now he could remember every moment of it. Every touch, every taste and every sound seemed to have ingrained itself in his memory, so sweet to be able to recall, and so bitter to know that it was all merely a figment of his unconscious mind. He desperately wished that he could go back to sleep and fall straight back into it but that was never going to happen. A dream like that was one of those uncontrollable, once-in-a-lifetime occurrences that you might go mad trying to recapture without success.

He cracked an eye open to glance at his bedside clock and was shocked to see that it was nearly eleven. Still, it was a Sunday and he didn't have any plans so it didn't really matter that nearly half the day was already gone. In fact, he decided that he was just going to stay here a bit longer and torment himself by replaying what his sleeping brain had had him and Aaron doing last night.

He'd had dreams about the mechanic before of course, but nothing like this. When morning came the images usually melted away leaving only confused impressions of pleasure and excitement and naked flesh. Today though he could practically feel his lips tingling from their kisses, feel the pleasant soreness of his face where illusory stubble had rasped across his skin, feel the ache in his muscles that would have resulted from all their exertions. He could even hear the imaginary breathing of the younger man as he slept next to him.

Jackson's eyes flew open as he realised that he couldn't remember dreaming about Aaron sleeping, they'd both been awake throughout. Most definitely, definitely awake. So if he wasn't imagining the breathing...

Hardly daring to breathe himself, the contractor eased over so that he could see the other half of the bed behind him and nearly bit through his tongue at the sight that greeted him. Aaron asleep. Asleep and naked. Very very naked. Okay... So maybe it _was_ possible to go back to sleep and revisit a dream you'd thought was lost to you. He rubbed his eyes furiously but when he opened them again the mechanic was still there, still lying face down on top of the duvet, head still resting on a pillow wrapped around one arm. In his bed... Aaron was asleep in his bed and it wasn't a dream. Last night hadn't been a dream! They'd actually...

'Wow' Jackson thought as his gaze swept up and down the compact muscular body next to him 'I had sex with that!'

He could hardly believe it. Things like this simply didn't happen to him. He did not get to go to bed with the hottest man he'd ever met, he did not get have sex with him three... No... Four times, and he most certainly did not get to wake up the next day to find that it had all really happened and wasn't some sort of vodka induced hallucination. And yet there Aaron was, there was the love bite that he'd left on the younger man's right buttock after being carried up the stairs... And the one just under his left shoulder blade. And the one on his neck. Chances were good that if he turned over the one on his stomach would be there also... It all certainly seemed to be real. Jackson's face split into quite possibly the biggest grin that any human being had ever had in the history of time.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from Aaron, still half expecting him to vanish like morning dew if he did so. But more than that, he was revelling in the novelty of being able to stare all he liked without having to worry about getting caught drooling. And a sleeping Aaron was, if possible, even more beautiful than an awake Aaron.

Jackson couldn't get over how young he looked. Yes, twenty five wasn't exactly ancient, but the cocky, grouchy hard-man act that the mechanic so often put on must add several years to his appearance, because in slumber all that was gone, and a calm innocent youthfulness seemed to shine through in its place. Aaron even wore a tiny yet almost unbearably sweet smile, half hidden by the pillow he was snuggling, but undeniably there all the same. Jackson was pretty sure that nobody else had ever seen that smile before and he tucked the memory of it away as something he might take out and savour whenever the world seemed dim and unfriendly.

It was all too much. Looking just wasn't going to cut it anymore. For weeks he'd longed to run his hands across that smooth pale skin, to caress those biceps and shoulders and more... Now Aaron was here, Aaron was his. Now he could do all those things he'd dreamed of whenever he wanted to, and this was one of those moments when he most definitely wanted to!

Reaching out, hand shaking slightly with... What? Nerves? It seemed foolish to feel nervous after what the two of them had done together just a few hours before, but they were there nonetheless... What if Aaron woke up and decided it was all some terrible mistake? Too late to worry about that now as his fingertips brushed along the length of the mechanic's spine, hesitating slightly when they reached the sculpted contours of Aaron's buttocks as he remembered driving himself repeatedly into the hot, tight confines between them. Jackson allowed his hand to follow the path of his memories, slipping down the muscular crevice to intimately tease the younger man.

Aaron moaned quietly in his sleep, unconsciously angling his hips upwards, his legs slipping further apart as Jackson continued to stroke and play gently between them.

"Mmm... Jackson..." the younger man sighed causing the contractor to freeze thinking he'd been caught. But no, peeking timidly around the curve of Aaron's shoulder Jackson could see that the mechanic was still asleep, though from the way he was starting to writhe on the bed chances were he'd be awake soon enough. "Jackson!" Aaron groaned more insistently, his hips bucking gently against the older man's hand. 'Oh hell yes!' Jackson smirked to himself, if Aaron wanted him when he was a sleep he didn't think he need worry about picking up where they left off when he came to his senses!

Jackson was so captivated by the sight of his sleeping lover moaning his name, that he wasn't prepared when Aaron thrust back unexpectedly hard against the finger which was still teasing between his legs. The older man bit his lip as he felt the rough, unprepared digit breach the tight ring of muscle and blue eyes flew open to stare dozily at him in shock. All the contractor could do was look sheepish, his worries returning in full force as Aaron gazed sleepily around, taking in the situation before his eyes settle once more on the man lying next to him, a frown creasing his brow.

"Well it's better than an alarm clock," the mechanic mumbled, his voice husky with sleep "But maybe next time you want to wake me up you could use some lube?" he finished with a hazy grin.

Jackson released the breath he hadn't realised he was holding and smiled back at his lover.

"Sorry... It was an accident!" he replied, laughing as Aaron raised one eyebrow, clearly unconvinced that any form of accident could lead to him waking up to find a finger stuck in an intimate area of his anatomy.

"Mmm... Come 'ere." the mechanic growled, snaking an arm around Jackson's waist and rolling over, pulling the older man on top of him as he sought out his lips for a morning kiss.

The contractor felt Aaron's stubble catching against his own as their mouths devoured each other. Callused hands carded through his hair and down his back as strong legs wrapped themselves round his waist and pulled him tight against the body beneath him.

"God..." Aaron groaned breaking the kiss to gasp for air "I don't think I've ever wanted anything as much as I want you." he sighed, tracing a fingertip lightly across Jackson's jaw.

"Just as well you've got me then!" the contractor smiled down at him, feeling like his heart was going to burst at hearing those words.

"Hmm yeah... Every inch of you..." the mechanic smirked, clear blue eyes sparkling mischievously as he wiggled his hips against Jackson's groin.

"Every inch eh?" the older man gasped.

"Oh yeah," Aaron confirmed "Every single one..."

Jackson laughed as he reached for the tube of lube on the night stand before leaning down to kiss the younger man, just because he could.

-x-x-

Aaron lay on his back staring at the ceiling, arms still stretched above his head, hands clutching fitfully at the railings of the headboard as he tried to catch his breath. His brain still seemed to be having trouble with the enormity of everything that had happened to him since last night. It felt like he'd gone from having nothing to having everything he wanted in the space of a few hours... Only there was still a tiny part of him that insisted that what he wanted, what he'd done... What he and Jackson had done, was wrong.

Last night he'd been caught up in the moment, on a massive high at discovering that Jackson had feelings for him and wanted him just as much as he wanted the older man. Then afterwards he'd been too exhausted to think about anything beyond the fact that he felt incredible before he'd fallen asleep wrapped safely in Jackson's arms. Now though, whilst his body felt deliciously lethargic after their latest bout of vigorous activity, his mind was very much alert and he couldn't stop it throwing out these unwanted thoughts.

Maybe the naysayers in the village were right? Maybe he was a head case? Maybe he was beyond redemption? After all, he was happier now than ever before in his life. He couldn't even think of a way that it could get any better than this! His business was flourishing, he'd somehow managed to become part of a loving family and, unbelievably, he now also had Jackson who he could admit, to himself at least, that he was in love with... To most people that was a dream come true and they'd be able to just sit back and bask in the success that they'd made of their lives. Why then was he plagued by this niggling feeling of doubt?

The mechanic squeezed his eyes closed, taking deep measured breaths and tried to let it all flow away like he'd been taught. He was gay. Yes, when he'd been a teenager it had seemed like the end of the world to say those words even in his own head, let alone out loud, but he was over all that surely? He'd met lots of other gay men, been on dates with a few and kissed some of them and it was all fine... The earth had kept on spinning round the sun and everything went on as usual despite the fact that Aaron Livesy was a homosexual. But this was different.

Somehow, somewhere deep inside, he knew that a part of him kept up the hope that it was all a big mistake, that despite the evidence to the contrary it was just some sort of phase he was going through. You heard about people who thought they were gay waking up one day to find that they actually liked girls after all didn't you? That quite clearly wasn't going to happen to him now though. When it was just the dating and a bit of kissing maybe, but after last night and this morning... The fire that Jackson had been able to kindle in his body with the merest touch, the raw need he felt for the older man as heated skin rubbed against heated skin, the overwhelming pleasure of taking him inside himself... No, there was no going back from that, and looking down to where a head of sweat-dampened curly hair rested on his chest he knew that he didn't want to. That little voice could go fuck itself.

"You think too much." a muffled voice grumbled, an accompanying gust of warm breath blowing across one nipple making him shiver slightly.

"What makes you think I'm thinking?" Aaron huffed.

Jackson raised his head and the mechanic's breath caught as a pair of smiling brown eyes regarded him with amusement.

"You're kidding right?" the older man laughed "The people next door can probably hear that horrible grinding noise coming out of your head!"

"Oh... Shut up." Aaron sighed rolling his eyes dramatically.

"Make me!" Jackson replied with a cheeky grin.

The man was quite possibly the sweetest thing in the entire world Aaron decided as he leaned down to kiss him. Obviously the universe had cocked up somewhere because there was no way that he deserved someone like Jackson, but maybe he'd earned just enough luck for nobody to notice the mistake for a little while longer.

"So, what were you thinking about?" the contractor persisted once they'd separated again.

"Nothing..." Aaron answered quietly as he allowed his head to flop back down on the pillow.

"And by nothing you quite clearly mean something." Jackson pressed, heaving himself further up the bed so that he could look directly down at his lover.

Aaron had no choice but to look up into a face radiating concern and was helpless to do anything but talk... It really was very unfair of Jackson to use these superpowers against him he thought briefly.

"I was just thinking about... About us. What we did." he admitted.

"Oh..." the older man paused, biting his lower lip slightly, a clear sign of worry "Are you... Are we okay?" he asked finally, his eyes now looking everywhere but at Aaron.

"Yeah of course!" the mechanic answered hurriedly "It's just... It's a big deal, a lot for me to take in! But I don't regret it, not for a second... You're... Well you're everything that I was waiting and hoping for.." he trailed off feeling embarrassed.

For a few seconds he thought he'd made a mess of everything as Jackson just stared at him, but then in a flurry of movement the older man's arms were around him in a crushing hug and his mouth was devouring his. There was nothing sweet or tender about the kiss, it was fierce and desperate and almost brutal in it's passion, and Aaron loved it. It was like Jackson was claiming him, making it quite clear that he belonged to him.

He'd spent a lot of his life shying away from attachments, having learnt at an early age that to need someone or to be needed would only lead to heartache. More recently though he'd begun to thaw. How could he not given Paddy's refusal to give up on him despite everything? Given the trust that the Dingles and Rhona and Brennan placed in him? He was glad that Jackson had met him now rather than back when he was the mess he'd been as a teenager. Now that he was actually in a position to appreciate the older man he couldn't think of anything he wanted more than to belong to Jackson, mind, body and soul.

Finally lack of oxygen had the contractor pulling away leaving the two of them panting.

"Wow..." Aaron gasped "I think I could get used to mornings like this!"

"Afternoons." Jackson amended breathlessly.

"Ya what?" the mechanic queried with a puzzled grin.

"You mean afternoons like this." the older man answered "It's well past twelve."

Aaron's eyes widened in shock and he rolled out from under his lover to grab the bedside clock, mouth dropping open as he stared at the little screen before giving the device a violent shake.

"Crap!" he shouted when the numbers resolutely refused to change from reading 12:47 and he immediately jumped out of bed and began desperately rooting about on the floor for his clothes.

"What's wrong?" Jackson exclaimed worriedly, propping himself up on his elbows to watch the frantic whirl of activity.

"The first Sunday of every month we have family lunch at half one on the dot!" Aaron gasped as he tried to pull his boxers and jeans on at the same time "Rhona'll have a fit if I'm late, Bren's probably already wondering where I am!"

"Oh right." the older man muttered as the mechanic finally succeeded in getting his clothing in order and headed towards the door.

"I'll catch you later yeah?" Aaron called as he rushed out of the room and clomped quickly down the stairs, not even bothering to do up the laces of his boots.

He'd just reached the front door when events caught up with him. 'I'll catch you later? What the hell are you playing at you stupid prat?' he berated himself. Turning swiftly round he charged back up the stairs and into the bedroom, hating himself when he saw Jackson sitting on the bed where he'd left him looking despondently at the floor. Not knowing exactly how to make amends for his thoughtlessness he threw himself at the older man, knocking him backwards onto the rumpled sheets and applied himself to kissing him with all the feelings he could muster. It took a few seconds but relief flooded through him as Jackson finally began to respond.

"Sorry..." he murmured between kisses "Not used... To this... Couple stuff... I'm an idiot..."

The older man pushed him up by his shoulders and regarded him with an expression of half amusement, half curiosity.

"You think of us as a couple then?" he asked.

"Urm... Well yeah, I kinda figured after last night... Unless you don't want..." Aaron suddenly felt like an fool. He'd just assumed that he and Jackson were now together, but maybe it didn't work like that. He was in uncharted territory again and didn't know what to do. Something of his predicament obviously showed on his face because the older man was shaking his head and trying to suppress a smirk.

"You're right," Jackson chuckled "You are an idiot if you think I don't want to be your boyfriend!"

The mechanic attempted to scowl but his heart really wasn't in it, he suspected that it came out as a big soppy grin instead so he quickly buried his face in Jackson's neck and held on to him tightly, feeling strong arms wrap around his back in response.

"You'd better hurry up and get showered and dressed." he said to the contractor as he finally let go and pushed to his feet.

"Urr... Why?" Jackson asked in confusion.

"Like I said, Rhona has a complete meltdown if someone's late for lunch." Aaron answered.

"I thought you said it was a family thing?" the contractor replied with a slight frown.

"It is." the younger man grinned over his shoulder as he once more headed for the door "So get that sexy arse of yours in gear and up to the house yeah?"

The look of shock on Jackson's face had him smiling happily all the way home.

-x-x-

"Where _is_ he?" Paddy asked for what must've been the fifth time in the past hour as he continued to pace around the kitchen.

Rhona heaved a sigh of exasperation as she finished basting the the leg of lamb before pushing it back into the oven for it's final few minutes. Pulling off the oven gloves she dumped them on the counter and grabbed her husband by the shoulders as he went past, gently steering him towards a seat at the table. If he did one more circuit of the room she swore that she wouldn't be responsible for what she did with the carving fork.

"I'm sure he's fine Paddy! He's a grown man. You know perfectly well that he's more than capable of looking after himself." she reassured.

"But he's never been this late before!" Paddy almost whined "If he's not back soon he's going to miss lunch and you know he'd never do that, not willingly!"

The female vet glanced at the clock on the wall and had to admit that it was unusual. Aaron had never missed a family lunch in all the years they'd been having them, and he'd never cut it this fine before turning up. In fact it was very rare for the young man to stay out all night at all, the few times he'd done so since she'd known him were when he'd been on a night out with Adam and ended up crashing at the B&B rather than coming home drunk and risk waking anyone up. But, as she and Paddy were both aware, Aaron had gone out to Bar West alone the previous evening and hadn't been heard from since.

"Well maybe he's got other...things on his mind right now." she said diplomatically.

"Like what?" her husband said throwing up his hands "He knows you'd 'ave 'is guts for garters if he's late!"

Rhona gave him the withering look that she usually reserved for Aaron when he and Brennan returned from some excursion covered in mud or worse. It was rather gratifying to see Paddy visibly wilt under her glare, the only effect it ever had on their surrogate son was to make him smirk and wander off leaving her to clean up the mess.

"What I'm mean," she answered primly "Is that maybe this morning he's had something to do that might be occupying him more than worrying about Sunday lunch..."

The male vet looked confused, quite clearly unable to imagine anything that could possibly eclipse the threat of his wife being annoyed about something. Rhona smiled fondly at him and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead before heading back to the cooker to check on the vegetables.

"Think about it. And think about where he went last night... And what he might have ended up doing..." she said around a mouthful of carrot, adding a quick dash of salt to the pan as she did so.

Paddy frowned for a few seconds before his eyes widened and he began shaking his head.

"Ohhh no no no!" he blurted going red in the face as he realised what his wife was getting at "He... No... I mean this is Aaron we're talking about! He wouldn't... I... He... No! You know what he's like! Can you imagine? No, there's just no way!"

"Stranger things have happened..." Rhona replied.

"Name one!" Paddy laughed.

"Oh come on Paddy! You know it's going to happen sooner or later! He's a twenty five years old man, there's no getting around the fact that he has urges! You remember what it was like to be his age surely?"

"I'm not quite so old as to have forgotten thank you very much!" her husband pouted "But... But it's Aaron! Do you think he even... Knows what to do?" he finished lamely, waving one hand vaguely in the air, his face flushing crimson.

"How do you know he's not done it before?" Rhona asked with a smirk.

Paddy gave her a look.

"Fine," she conceded "But it's hardly rocket science is it? I'm sure even Aaron could figure it out without a diagram. After all, he is a mechanic, they're all about greasing up parts and-"

"Okay okay!" her husband interrupted quickly "I get the idea thanks! I just worry about him... I know he comes across as all tough and everything but underneath..." he tailed off with a sigh.

She knew exactly what Paddy meant...

When she'd first returned to the village Rhonda hadn't a clue who Aaron was. He hadn't been living there when she first passed through Emmerdale all those years ago, and Paddy hadn't mentioned him when she'd returned as a locum. The village gossips had been quick to put that to rights though. The more she heard the less she liked, and though she'd never met the teenager it hadn't been long before she half decided that she hated him

It had been months before one night, when he'd had a few too many pints, Paddy spoke to her of the younger man. The picture he painted was so very different from the one everyone else conjured up that for a short while she thought he was talking about a different Aaron altogether. But no, apparently he thought quite warmly of the hell raising little thug that by rights he of all people should loathe the most. His inability to see anything but the best in people was one of the first things about Paddy that she'd fallen in love with, but in this case she was certain it was serving him wrong. There was just no way that the person he was describing could have done the things that she knew for a fact Aaron had done. Her incredulity must have come across because Paddy soon clammed up and didn't speak to her about him again for well over a year.

They'd been married nearly six months when the subject of the young man had arisen once more in, for Rhona at least, a decidedly unwelcome manner. Aaron Livesy would be returning to Emmerdale in a little over eight weeks because her husband had offered him his old room back. She'd been aware that Paddy still saw him every so often but she had had no idea that he was considering anything like this. Angry wasn't the word for how she felt when she'd learnt that he'd done such a thing without consulting her first. They were husband and wife now – partners. This was her home as well as his and he'd just opened it up to someone she'd never met and who he was well aware she didn't like.

Rhona had screamed and shouted and even thrown things, and Paddy had stood there, sheepishly taking it, until she'd worn herself out, and then he'd sat her down and told her everything. By the end of it she hadn't known what to think let alone what to say. She'd understood then why her husband had invited Aaron back to Smithy Cottage, even if his reasons seemed crazy to her. He had some misguided notion that he needed to make amends for the past, and from his excitement and enthusiasm it was quite clearly very important to him. She most certainly still didn't like Aaron and she still didn't want him living with them, but in the face of Paddy's puppy dog expression as he talked about having him back and the opportunity for second chances all round, she somehow hadn't been able to voice her protests.

And so it was that a few weeks later the devil himself had turned up on her doorstep, Paddy fussing round him like a mother hen with a solitary chick. Rhona had had to bite her tongue as her husband fawned all over this unwanted guest standing in her kitchen in a rumpled, ill-fitting suit, apologising repeatedly to him for past events. She wanted to yell that Aaron should be the one grovelling not Paddy, but she was sure that anything she had to say would fall on deaf ears. It had come as a shock therefore to hear her own thoughts issue from the mouth of the younger man.

Aaron had looked more and more uncomfortable as Paddy talked and finally had gently pushed the vet down in to one of the kitchen chairs before telling him in no uncertain terms that he had absolutely nothing to be sorry about, that everything that had happened had been Aaron's own fault and that the only person that should be apologising for anything was himself. He'd then hugged the older man tightly and told him that he didn't deserve to have someone like him in his life and that he wished he could have realised that a long time ago. Rhona was having serious trouble reconciling the tears she was quite certain she could see trickling down the young man's cheeks with the demonic image she'd constructed of him in her head.

The portrait of Aaron that had been painted for her by the rest of the village took further knocks in the coming weeks. Far from being rude, obnoxious and violent as she'd been led to expect, she only ever found him to be polite, considerate and if anything, rather shy. True, he had bad days just like anyone else, but when he was upset or moody he tended to disappear on long walks with Clyde or shut himself quietly in his room rather than inflict it on other people. He helped out around the house, cleaning, tidying, doing the laundry and the washing up, and more often than not he was the first one up in the mornings and would have breakfast either on the table or well under way by the time the two vets came downstairs. The one thing he didn't do was make dinner in the evening, and that was only because, following the few times he'd tried, Rhona had made Paddy tell him that he was really not a very good cook as, much to both her and her husband's shock, she hadn't the heart to break it to him herself.

Even Pearl was having a hard time finding fault with him, and she'd practically been the president of the Emmerdale chapter of the Anti-Aaron Livesy Society before his return. The courteous good mornings, the endless stream of cups of tea and biscuits that the young man kept running through to the surgery and his offer to fix up the old banger that she'd purchased a couple of years ago free of charge had reduced their elderly receptionist to putty in Aaron's hands. Rhona had waited and waited for him to take advantage of the pensioner in some way but it never happened, he actually appeared to be genuine in his intention to do right by those around him.

The final nail in the coffin of Rhona's hatred of the young man had come late one night a couple of months after Aaron had moved in. She'd woken feeling a little queasy and whilst making her way to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water, an unexpected noise had brought her to a halt just as she'd started descending the stairs. Someone was crying. Creeping back up a couple of steps was enough to confirm that the sounds were coming from Aaron's room. The female vet had briefly wondered if he had someone else in there with him, but then she couldn't imagine who it might possibly be. He never received any phone calls and hardly ever went out of the house. On the few occasions when he'd ventured into the village, pretty much everyone had avoided him like the plague, so there weren't exactly many candidates for who it could be.

After dithering on the landing for a couple of minutes Rhona had finally plucked up the courage to knock lightly on the bedroom door, half hoping that the muffled sobbing would cease without any answer so that she could scuttle back to bed and pretend that nothing unusual had happened. It seemed typical of her luck though that the sound continued and she felt compelled to gently open the door, expecting at any moment to have an angry Aaron rage at her for intruding.

The curtains were open and the street lamp outside washed one wall with a diffuse orange glow which didn't so much illuminate the room as serve to highlight the shadows. There was just enough light though to make out the lone figure curled up on the bed, and to show Rhona why Aaron hadn't responded to her knock. He'd been crying in his sleep. Once again she was unsure of what to do... Should she wake him up? Go back to bed and leave him to it? Or fetch Paddy and let him figure it out?

One of the reasons she'd become a vet was that she hated to see anything suffering, and that drive suddenly kicked in as she watched the young man clutching a pillow too his chest as sobs wracked his body. Before she really knew what she was doing she found herself sitting on the bed next to him rubbing his back and making gentle reassuring noises like her mother used to do for her when she'd woken crying from a nightmare as a child. Her heart had clenched at the noises Aaron made and couldn't help but wonder what horrors he could have been through in the last few years that would make him break down in his sleep like that. She shuddered and pushed the thoughts away, not wanting to let her imagination run away with her, instead concentrating on trying to sooth the young man.

After a few minutes Aaron had slowly started to calm down, and quarter of an hour later seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Rhona sighed as she looked down at him. He looked so very, very young. Returning to her own bed she'd lay awake for a long while staring into the darkness. She had finally understood why after all these years and everything that had happened her husband still wanted so desperately to have Aaron around. He wasn't now, and probably never had been the monster he was made out to be. She had seen beyond that to the scared and damaged boy that hid inside the man, and dammit if she too now didn't feel an overwhelming urge try and help him. She just hoped that that she and Paddy working together could settle Aaron back into village life and get him back on his feet relatively quickly, because she had her suspicions that in about eight months they would have another member of the family to worry about.

Those months before Brennan was born had proved to be a turning point in Aaron's life. With her's and Paddy's behind the scenes cajoling, plus Pearl's now glowing praises, his blood relations in the form of the Dingle clan had accepted him back into the fold and put him to work. As the village had slowly become acquainted with the more mature, grown up Aaron, there had been a slow thaw in opinion among some of the residents and he, Adam and Victoria had renewed their friendship. Rhona thought that that more than anything had catalysed the return of some of Aaron's confidence and, much to Paddy's secret delight, with it came a little of the grumpy bravado he'd been famous for as a teenager.

Ever since, despite the new found attitude, Rhona would every now and again see hints of that vulnerability Aaron did his best to hide, and she now felt just as protective over him as she was over Brennan. So yes, she understood perfectly well Paddy's worry that someone might hurt their surrogate son without even laying a finger on him, but what could they do? He had turned into such a wonderful young man that she really wanted him to find someone special, just as she and Paddy had found each other, but she knew from experience that it was all too easy to fall for the wrong man and Aaron had so little experience...

"He'll just have to take his chances like everyone else I suppose." Rhona sighed, wrapping her arms around Paddy's neck and perching on his knee "At least if anything does go wrong he's got people around who love him to help pick up the pieces."

Her husband grimaced at that and she had to agree that it wasn't much consolation.

The kitchen door creaked open and Rhona and Paddy looked round in time to see Aaron's head peek round it quite obviously checking to see if the coast was clear. His eyes widened and his cheeks pinked as he found the two vets sitting there staring at him. He edged inside, shutting the door behind him and nervously wiped his feet on the mat.

"Alright? Lunch nearly ready?" he asked.

"Where the bleeding 'ell 'ave you been?" Paddy exclaimed, then yelped "Ow!" as he received a smack on the arm from his wife for his efforts.

"Lunch'll be ready in about a half hour or so." Rhona answered the mechanic with a smile "I expect you'll be wanting a shower after your night out, you should have time if you're quick."

"Yeah. Right. Thanks." Aaron replied blushing further as he headed quickly towards the stairs.

"Oh Aaron?" the female vet called out before he could make it out of the room.

"Urm yeah?"

"You might want to concentrate on your neck when you're having a wash, you seem to have quite a large smudge of dirt just round here." Rhona said circling a spot on the right side of her own neck to illustrate.

The young man's hand flew up to cover the love bite that peaked out over the top of his collar, his face now scarlet as Rhona tried unsuccessfully to suppress a smirk whilst Paddy glanced between them looking confused.

"Something you'd like to tell us?" Rhona asked innocently, doing her best not to giggle at Aaron's obvious discomfort.

"No!" the mechanic muttered his face scrunching up in embarrassed annoyance as he turned back towards the stairs still clutching his neck "Oh... Actually there is yes." he amended halting suddenly at the door. "Urm... I urr... I've invited a...a friend over for lunch." Aaron mumbled avoiding meeting the shocked eyes of the two vets.

"Er... Would this be the 'friend' who you... Whose place you stayed at last night?" Rhona asked with a slight frown.

Aaron didn't have to reply, the way his ears turned an even deeper shade of red than they already were was answer enough.

"But it's a family lunch!" Paddy exclaimed getting to his feet, clearly not happy about some random man being invited into the house.

"You're always having Marlon over and he ain't family!" the younger man retorted with a scowl.

"That's different!"

"Why? Because he's one of _your_ friends?" Aaron snapped.

"No! Marlon practically _is_ family! If you ever wanted to invite maybe Adam or Victoria we'd be fine with that! It's just... Well we've got Brennan to think about..." Paddy tried to explain.

The mechanic looked like the older man had physically slapped him in the face.

"You seriously think I'd bring someone here who might be a danger to Bren? Or are you worried about him being exposed to too much gayness?" Aaron asked icily.

It was Paddy's turn to look stunned.

"Of course that's not what I meant! I just... I mean we.. I erm, I, I, I..." the vet stuttered.

"What Paddy _means_," Rhona stepped in trying to calm the situation down "Is that it would be nice to meet this person before they start turning up to things that we traditionally reserve for family, that's all. Please try to understand Aaron-"

"Oh I understand all right!" the mechanic interrupted "You and your _family_ enjoy yer poxy lunch! I'll go down the pub and leave the three of you to it!" With that he stormed up the stairs and the sound of his bedroom door slamming echoed throughout the house.

Paddy slumped back into his chair and buried his face in his hands.

"What just happened?" he groaned.

"He's just being melodramatic." Rhona replied going to check on the roast.

"But it's a big deal inviting someone to meet your family... He wouldn't just do that on a whim would he?" her husband mused.

"When he calms down he'll realise we're not being the unreasonable ones here. He can't expect us to be thrilled that he's invited a stranger to dinner without giving us any notice!"

"That's just it though! I can't imagine Aaron inviting someone he's just met back here, he just wouldn't!"

"Well what else can it be?" Rhona exclaimed as she wrapped the joint in foil and set it aside whilst she started work on the gravy "He hardly ever goes anywhere further than The Woolpack and he's not been on a date in months. It _must_ be someone that he met at the bar last night..."

"Why's everyone shouting?" a small voice quavered from the living room doorway before her husband could respond.

Brennan stood there anxiously hugging his favourite toy, a small, slightly bedraggled looking stuffed Alsatian that Aaron had bought him for his second birthday. Paddy's face brightened at the sight of his son and he gestured for him to come over. The small boy hurried across the kitchen and climbed into his father's lap to receive a comforting hug. Raised voices were a rarity in Smithy Cottage these days and Bren always got upset whenever anyone in the house got into an argument.

"Heeey!" Paddy cooed "It's nothing to worry about! Just me and yer mum and Aaron being silly!"

"Aaron is staying for lunch isn't he?" Brennan asked looking between his parents with large, soulful eyes, obviously having overhear the mechanic's parting remarks.

The two vets exchanged glances, really not knowing what to do for the best. Rhona gave a shrug and went back to whisking the gravy, clearly letting her husband know that the ball was firmly in his court on this one.

"Err... I hope so." Paddy answered truthfully.


	9. Chapter 9

_Part 9_

Jackson was in a panic. He'd managed to shower in record time which was in itself something of a minor miracle given how supremely sticky he'd discovered himself to be after Aaron had left, but now his hair refused to do anything but look like a haystack that had been hit by a tornado. He half expected a farmhouse and a little girl in ruby slippers to come flying out of it at any moment as he prodded it dubiously with a brush. And what in god's name was he going to wear?

He could barely remember the last time he'd been to a boyfriend's parent's house for dinner, but whenever it was he was positive he'd been given more than half an hour to prepare for the occasion! At least it wasn't going to be his first time meeting Paddy and Rhona, but he was under no illusions that this time wasn't going to be different. This time they'd be judging whether he was a suitable partner for their son rather than seeing him as just a mate who Aaron went to the pub or wherever with. He already felt at a disadvantage on that score what with not being able to walk properly and all. A wheelchair wasn't exactly top of the list of desirable attributes that parents looked for in someone going out with one of their children. Admittedly, Paddy and Rhona weren't actually Aaron's mum and dad, but from the way the younger man talked about them they may as well have been. He still had to make a good impression.

The contractor paused for a second and frowned as he realised that he didn't even know whether the vets were aware that Aaron was gay. He certainly would never have guessed if he hadn't seen the mechanic in Bar West last night... Had it only been last night?

Things were moving so fast! Everything was fine when it was just him and Aaron; he had absolutely no problem with the situation when the two of them were alone. He wanted Aaron and Aaron wanted him, and that was all that mattered. It was just that now he was waking up to the fact that the rest of the world still existed, and it was hitting home that they'd only truly been together a few hours. They hadn't had time to talk about all that stuff that, if their relationship had developed in a more conventional way, they probably would have got out of the way weeks ago.

If they'd met in Bar West when he'd first moved back to the area they wouldn't have spent a month each thinking the other was straight... They would've had drinks and talked, and gone on dates and talked some more, and by now Jackson would know if Aaron was out and how he was meant to behave when they weren't alone or in a gay bar. Instead, all he knew for sure right now was that he wanted to touch Aaron whenever he felt like it, whether that be absent mindedly stroking his leg or holding his hand when they were sat together, or kissing him when the urge took him. But he had no idea whether or not he could do any of those things. What if he turned up to lunch and had to pretend that they were just friends?

Jackson shook his head to try and clear his mind, sighed and got on with getting ready. He wouldn't really change anything about the way he and Aaron had got together even if he could. Who's to say that if they hadn't spent the last month becoming such good friends that he would feel so intensely about the mechanic as he did now? It had been a frustrating few weeks dealing with his almost overwhelming physical attraction to Aaron, but the result was that now, at the very start of their relationship, he already knew the man so much better than any other person he'd ever been out with. They had a lot to discuss but, for this afternoon, if he could resist dragging him off to ravish him the moment he laid eyes on him again, he could just take his cues from Aaron as to what was acceptable behaviour in front of Paddy and Rhona and Brennan.

Having finished buttoning up the shirt he'd chosen, the contractor wheeled himself quickly across the landing, waited impatiently for the stair lift to make its way up, then sat impatiently as it trundled back down the rail. Hardly waiting for it to come to a stop he practically threw himself into his wheelchair at the bottom, grabbed his coat off the hook before letting himself out of the house. He was thankful that the morning's rain had moved on and the sun was shining brightly once again as he splashed through the puddles that had formed at the bottom of the ramp outside the front door. Making a mad dash up the hill in a torrential downpour wouldn't have left him in the best of states for lunch with the in-laws he thought wryly.

As the door to Smithy Cottage got closer and closer, Jackson seemed to find himself moving more and more slowly, the butterflies that had started to flutter in his stomach earlier feeling like they'd turned into huge madly flapping eagles. He kept telling himself that he was being silly and that he had no reason to be nervous, but he couldn't help but worry. His mind kept picturing the look of disappointment on Paddy and Rhona's faces when Aaron presented a cripple as his boyfriend. Of course they'd be terribly polite about it, and then the minute his back was turned they'd make Aaron realise how he could do so much better... Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if they didn't know that their surrogate son was gay?

Well whatever, it was too late to worry any more about it now, as the bright red front door loomed in front of him. Taking a deep breath, Jackson reached out and knocked.

-x-x-

Aaron was in a panic. How had everything gone so wrong so quickly? Not ten minutes ago he'd been the happiest man alive, now... Now he felt like crawling under his bed and busting into tears! No matter what he did he kept hearing Paddy's words echoing in his head, '..._we've got Brennan to think about..._' repeating over and over. After all this time he thought he'd earned their trust. He would never, ever do anything to endanger Bren in any way, he loved the kid so much that just the thought of anything happening to him made him feel physically sick. They were brothers in everything but blood and name! Yet Paddy thought he'd bring some... Some... Some random _fuck_ back to the house! As if he'd ever done that, would ever do that! It was just like... He shuddered. No, he wasn't going to think about that now, he had to calm down.

The mechanic paced around the room with his hands on his head taking deep breaths, in through his nose, letting them slowly out through his mouth. He tried to think about Brennan. The need he felt not to disappoint the little boy, to be someone he could look up to and rely on was normally something that would bring him back to his senses on the now rare occasions when he felt this way. But it didn't seem to be working this time. Paddy had ruined it with that one little phrase! He couldn't think of his brother without now imagining the vet anxiously watching his every move in case he should do something to harm his son.

Aaron groaned in frustration as the blood roared in his ears. There had to be some way to stop his temper getting out of hand... Jackson would be here soon and he didn't want the older man to see him having such a terrible lapse! What would his boyfriend think of him? He stopped dead in the middle of the floor. His heart was pounding, but for a very different reason to just moments before. He had a boyfriend. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he sank down onto the bed. Warm, chocolatey brown eyes would look at him with concern, a soft, worried voice would ask him if he was okay, strong rough fingers would gently stroke the back of his neck... He shivered and felt himself relax. He had a boyfriend...

Toeing off his boots and socks and shrugging off his t-shirt, the mechanic grabbed a towel off the back of the door and hurried to the bathroom. He had a boyfriend who was going to be turning up any minute and he urgently needed to brush his teeth and have a shower before he arrived!

Setting the water temperature as hot as he could stand it Aaron stepped under the spray and let the powerful jets blast away the last of the red mist that had been fogging his brain. It scared him that such rage still lurked inside him after all these years. Every time he thought that he was free of it it seemed that that side of him would raise it's ugly head, mocking his efforts. As a teenager he remembered feeling that way for days on end, doing stupid, cruel and destructive things and revelling in the chaos he caused. Now he looked back in horror at the fool he'd been and tried his very best to be master of himself. Leaning his forehead against the cool tiles he heaved a deep sigh. It had been years since he'd actually lost it but quite clearly he was still a work in progress.

Now that he was thinking straight he could at least understand why Paddy had said what he'd said, though that didn't make it right. If he'd had the chance to tell them that it was Jackson he'd been with the night before, and that that was who he'd invited to lunch, he was sure that the ugly little scene between them wouldn't have happened. But he hadn't had the opportunity. The way Rhona had looked at him he'd known immediately that she'd guessed what he'd been up to, and his embarrassment had caused him to do what he so often did when he was feeling trapped – he'd become uncommunicative and defensive. Even so, there was no excuse for what Paddy had implied, he should know that he wouldn't invite someone round who wasn't completely trustworthy.

It was so confusing! Normally when he flew off the handle, when he calmed down he realised that he'd been the one in the wrong. This time though he felt he had every right to be angry. A definite case of righteous indignation. But he didn't want to feel this way! All he wanted was to forget about it all and go back to being on top of the world like when he'd left Jackson's. It just wasn't going to happen though. He couldn't imagine anything that could possibly make him forgive Paddy and Rhona right now. He was a grown man but they seemed to be saying that they expected him to run everything by them before he did it, as though he was a child, incapable of making sensible decisions on his own. It made him feel more like a lodger than part of the family, someone that had to check with the landlady that they could invite a friend over for tea. Surely he deserved better than that?

Turning off the shower, Aaron wrapped the towel around his waist and finished up in the bathroom. He knew that the sensible thing would be to sit down with the vets, talk to them about how they'd made him feel, get it all out in the open and try to move past it, but he really didn't have time right now, Jackson could turn up any second. At least that was what he tried telling himself. The truth was that talking to Paddy and Rhona would be hard, whereas avoiding it by heading to the pub with Jackson would be easy, at least in the short term. Plus it would be enjoyable... There wasn't really any contest, even if he was slipping back into old habits by running away from his problems.

He was just crossing the landing, heading back to his room to get dressed when he heard a knock at the front door.

-x-x-

Paddy and Rhona were in a panic. The sharp rap of knuckles on wood reverberating throughout the house had caused Rhona's head to snap up from where she'd been concentrating on carving the joint. She met the wide-eyed look her husband was shooting her way over their son's head with one of her own, as Brennan craned his neck around Paddy's shoulder to peer curiously towards the door.

In Emmerdale, lunchtime on a Sunday afternoon was probably one of the quietest points of the week. Not exactly a bustling metropolis at the best of times, an even more noticeable sense of hushed calm would descend upon the village as families gathered, either at home or in the pub, for the traditional roast dinner. It was very unusual for visitors to come knocking unless they were expected, and as far as Brennan had been aware it was only going to be the four of them that day. Both the vets had also prayed that this would be the case, hoping that following their earlier exchange of words Aaron would calm down enough to ask the person he'd invited to lunch to postpone his visit. That didn't appear to have happened though.

It seemed they'd been left with only two options – allow a complete stranger into their home, someone who even Aaron probably hardly knew, or put their foot down and have the young man storm off to the pub just like he'd threatened, leaving them to explain to Bren why family lunch was apparently no longer family lunch. Neither option was at all appealing and Rhona could read the look on Paddy's face as clear as day... He had no idea what to do for the best and was leaving it up to her to sort out!

Scowling at her husband, who at least have the decency to look suitably embarrassed, the female vet wiped her hands on a tea towel before making her way to the door. She paused for a few seconds with her hand on the latch trying to figure out what exactly she was going to say, but, unable to come up with anything she plastered her best fake smile on her face and turned the handle.

-x-x-

"Oh! Jackson! Hi!" Rhona exclaimed, the weird grin on her face morphing into what the contractor could only describe as a look of intense relief mixed with what he hoped was genuine pleasure at seeing him sitting on her doorstep.

"Hey Rhona. How're things?" Jackson smiled back, feeling his own sense of relief. Maybe the whole lunch thing wasn't going to go as badly as he'd convinced himself it would.

"Urm... Okay thanks." the vet replied, but her grin faded to a slightly worried look and she distractedly started scanning the village over the top of his head. Obviously catching herself she dragged her attention back "So what can we do for you?" she asked, smile reinstated.

Jackson's heart sank. Aaron hadn't even told them he'd invited him to lunch, let alone that they were now a couple... He knew he'd briefly hoped that in Paddy and Rhona's eyes he could just remain one of Aaron's friends, but that had just been a moment of insecurity. To actually be faced with what amounted to his boyfriend's denial of their new relationship hurt way more than he could have imagined.

"Err Aaron-" he began to explain when an excited yell interrupted him.

"Uncle Jackson!"

A tiny blurred figure charged between Rhona's legs and the door frame and launched itself at Jackson, and before he knew what was happening the contractor found himself with an armful of excited three year old.

"Brennan!" Rhona scolded "Get down at once!"

"He's alright!" Jackson laughed. He was quite glad for the hug that Bren was giving him, he really needed one at that moment... And it wasn't like he'd be getting one off Aaron any time soon he thought bitterly to himself. "How's it going mate?" he asked the little boy with a grin.

"We're gonna have lunch!" Brennan exclaimed happily "Mum's made lamb and yorkshires and roasted taters-"

"Potatoes." Rhona corrected in the slightly absent tone of voice of a parent who's pretty much given up any hope of their child ever paying any attention to being corrected.

Jackson tried his best not to laugh as Brennan rolled his eyes in exactly the same way that Aaron did when he was exasperated "-and roast po-taters," he continued which caused the contractor's suppressed to chuckle to escape as Rhona pinched the bridge of her nose "And gravy and carrots and and broc'li... You can have mine 'cause you have to eat all them vegetables... Mum! Can uncle Jackson stay for lunch?"

"I don't think today's really the best time Bren..." Paddy said coming to the door "Hi Jackson, you having a good weekend?"

The younger man shrugged, not really sure what to say. He'd been having a great weekend until a couple of minutes ago, now he just wanted to go home, climb into bed and wallow in self pity for the rest of the day. Or possibly the rest of the year. His answer, or lack thereof, didn't really seem to matter though as Paddy was now peering down the length of the village just as his wife had been before. Jackson glanced over his shoulder, wondering if he was missing something, but he couldn't spot anything unusual. Turning back he was about to ask if everything was okay when the sound of hurrying feet came from the stairs. Jackson saw the two vets stiffen and they exchanged looks loaded with significance which was lost on him. Obviously something was up, he just had no idea what.

Aaron emerged from the stairway, his face a little flushed and his hair damp and slightly fluffy looking. He was clearly fresh out of the shower and had forgotten, or maybe just hadn't bothered, to put the usual gel in his hair. As soon as he laid eyes on Jackson his face lit up and the contractor forgot for a second that he was at all upset, all his brain could offer by way of thoughts was how incredibly cute his boyfriend looked right then. The moment quickly passed though. As Aaron's gaze slid to Paddy and Rhona his smile turned into a scowl.

"Change of plan Jackson," he growled, still glaring at the older man and woman "We're going to the pub instead."

"Um... Okay." the contractor replied feeling totally lost now. He probably could've roasted his own dinner on the look that Aaron was shooting at the vets. Something had clearly happened between him and his family in the short time they'd been apart. The younger man seemed almost as angry as he'd been the previous night when Phil had been hurling insults around, and it was hard to imagine what two people who loved him could possibly have said to Aaron to spark such a reaction.

"Wait!" Paddy exclaimed staring in shock as the mechanic stepped outside "Jackson... Jackson's who you asked over for lunch?"

Aaron paused next to Jackson and turned. "Yeah." he stated.

"But you said... I... I mean we thought..."

"That I'd bring some random piece of-" the younger man bit off whatever he was going to say with a glance at Brennan who was sitting in Jackson's lap, wide eyes watching the scene unfolding between his brother and his parents. "I know exactly what you thought." he finished bitterly.

"You could've just said!" Paddy cried.

"I shouldn't have to say!" Aaron snapped "After all this time Paddy... I thought you trusted me! I'm not some irresponsible teenager anymore, I wouldn't invite someone home on a whim!"

Jackson had heard enough to guess what was going on now. Aaron had told the vets that he'd invited someone round and they'd jumped to the wrong conclusion about who that person might be. The whole situation might have been funny if it weren't for the hurt that was plain to hear in Aaron's voice. He could understand why the mechanic was upset. He knew for a fact that Aaron had never brought some one night stand back to Smithy Cottage so it's not like he'd done anything to justify Paddy and Rhona's mistrust on that score.

"It's not entirely our fault Aaron." Rhona said with a frown "You did imply that you'd invited someone you met at... At the bar you went to last night. Someone you'd...gone home with."

"Someone guy I went home with after meeting him in Bar West you mean?" the mechanic asked folding his arms.

The female vet's eyes widened, darting quickly towards Jackson then back to Aaron and the contractor realised that she knew perfectly well that Aaron was gay and had been deliberately careful with her words in case the younger man hadn't told him.

"Er yes quite." she answered weakly.

"Well that's exactly what happened." Aaron stated coldly.

The stunned silence that followed his declaration lasted for the best part of a minute before Paddy managed to find his tongue.

"But but but... Jackson's not... I mean you told me he wasn't... I urm err... You mean the two of you? You're...err..." he stuttered waving a finger vaguely between the two of them.

Aaron gave a single small nod of his head in response.

"Oh..." the vet said scratching his head "Oh..." he said a second time. Then his face split into a huge grin "But that's brilliant!" he exclaimed, and before the younger man could move, had hurried outside in his slippers and gathered a startled looking Aaron in a bear hug. "I'm so happy for you mate! I know how much you like him!" Paddy continued, apparently forgetting that Jackson was sitting not three feet away.

The contractor struggled to keep from looking extremely smug at those words, and did his best not to snigger at Aaron who was currently looking like he wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

"What's going on?" Brennan piped up, obviously not impressed that interesting stuff was happening around him but nobody was bothering to explain what.

"Nothing." Aaron mumbled as the vet finally released him. "Come on Jackson, I'm starving." he said, turning away and heading off across the lawn towards the pub.

"Aaron!" Paddy yelled after him but was resolutely ignored, a slight hunching of his shoulders being the only sign that the younger man had even heard him.

Jackson had a clear view of the way Paddy's face seemed to crumple in on itself as the mechanic walked away, the realisation that all was not forgiven hitting hard. The older man looked beseechingly at his wife who was stood in the doorway, biting her lower lip as she watched the scene. Rhona gave him a defeated looking shrug, indicating that she neither had any ideas on how to fix the crack that seemed to have opened up in their family. Brennan was standing up in his lap, staring over his shoulder after Aaron. The little boy's chin was starting to quiver and he looked like he might burst in to tears at any moment.

The contractor hesitated. He was loath to get involved in a family drama, but if Aaron was involved then he was involved too. Yes, he had the option of handing Brennan off to Paddy, following his boyfriend to The Woolpack and having what would most likely be an exceedingly tense afternoon watching the mechanic brood, sulk, then brood some more whilst getting nothing resolved. Or he could see if he fared any better in getting Aaron to come back, have what would mostly likely be an exceedingly tense Sunday lunch with the Kirks where there was the slim possibility that things might actually get sorted out. Either that or he'd be dumped and set a new record for the world's shortest relationship. Even if Bren hadn't turned those big moist eyes on him he knew which option he had to choose, for Aaron's sake if not for his own.

"Aaron." Jackson called. His voice was quiet in comparison to the way Paddy had shouted after the mechanic but it was a hundred times more effective. Aaron jerked to a stop as though he'd come to the end of an invisible lead. The contractor nearly bottled it when he saw the dark look that the younger man cast back at him, but swallowing his nervousness he did what he thought he had to.

"I... I think you should stay." he managed to force out of his suddenly dry mouth, watching the muscle in Aaron's jaw working overtime as he digested his words. He held the mechanic's gaze for a moment before looking pointedly down at Brennan who was staring after his brother with an expression that even a kicked puppy would've found it hard to match. Aaron visibly melted, the anger and upset disappearing like ice under a blowtorch. With a heavy sigh he turned and traipsed back up the short slope to once again stand next to Jackson.

"You play dirty." he muttered at the older man.

Jackson smirked up at him and raised one eyebrow provocatively, pleased when Aaron's face coloured before he focused his attention on the two vets. "If it's okay for Jackson to stay to lunch then we'll stay, otherwise we're going to the Woolie." he stated.

"Of course he can stay!" Rhona exclaimed quickly "We'd love for you to have lunch with us Jackson, wouldn't we Paddy?"

"Absolutely!" her husband replied enthusiastically "You're more than welcome!"

"Fine then. We'll be in the living room until it's ready." the mechanic declared flatly as he deftly scooped up Brennan, giving the boy a quick reassuring hug before firmly passing him over to Paddy, making it perfectly clear that by 'we' he meant him and Jackson.

"Actually it's just about ready no..." Rhona began but changed her mind as Aaron's eyebrows drew together "Nnnerr I mean it'll be ready in a few minutes!"

The young man nodded briefly before pushing through the living room door.

"Okay!" the female vet said brightly, turning to give Jackson a cheerful smile "Welcome to the family... May God have mercy on your soul." and with that she vanished back into the kitchen.

Paddy stood for a few seconds looking awkward before deciding that quietly following his wife was probably going to make for an easier life than any of the other options available to him.

"Make yourself at home! Oh... And good luck!" were the last things he said to the contractor before hurrying after Rhona.

Jackson was left sitting alone feeling slightly overwhelmed by the whirlwind of activity and emotions that had just swept around him. If he'd known that getting involved with Aaron would involve this much drama... Well...

Thinking of his grumpy, grouchy, stubborn, thoughtless, sweet, caring, kind, thoughtful, sexy boyfriend he knew that he wouldn't have done anything different whatsoever. Smiling, he wheeled himself into the house after Aaron.


	10. Chapter 10

_Part 10_

The sitting room of Smithy Cottage had a warm and cosy feel to it that Jackson found immediately appealing. He peered around with interest at his first look at Aaron's home, noting the way the room seemed to reflect a little of each of the people that lived there. He guessed that the dried flowers dotted about the place and the thickly layered throws and cushions that made the worn sofas look so comfortable and inviting were the work of Rhona. The ridiculously large flat panel TV, games system and shelves of action movies and games practically screamed 'bloke' so he figured were down to Paddy and/or Aaron, and the brightly coloured crayon drawings haphazardly blu-tacked to the walls at knee height were most likely Brennan's latest works of art... Though having seen the doodles that Aaron would unconsciously draw on any available piece of paper whilst they chatted over a coffee in the garage office, the pictures on the wall might only appear to be the work of a three year old he thought to himself with a grin.

He sobered as his mind turned to his boyfriend and his eyes settled on the younger man. Aaron was sat hunched in the corner of one of the sofas with his arms wrapped around his shins, chin resting on his knees as he absently chewed on his lower lip and stared vacantly into space. Jackson's heart went out to him. Though the mechanic had agreed to come back into the house and stay for lunch, the trouble with Paddy and Rhona which had blown up out of nowhere was clearly preying on his mind.

With a sigh the contractor wheeled himself across the room wishing that the last half hour or so had never happened and that the two of them were still wrapped up snugly in his bed in Dale Head, blissfully oblivious to everything but each other. It seemed that all too soon the real world had imposed on their new-found happiness.

Jackson reached the sofa and rolled to a stop next to Aaron. He wasn't sure what to do now though. He'd never had to console the younger man before... Should he reach out and give his hand a squeeze? Maybe Aaron was more the sort for a pat on the shoulder and a softly spoken "There, there"? Or would a hug be more appropriate? Perhaps dithering undecided over which method of comforting to employ was worse than picking the wrong one? All these things flashed through the contractor's mind, quickly followed by the thought that he was being ridiculous and should just get on with being Supportive Boyfriend, but before he could do anything Aaron had unfolded, leaned over and wrapped his arms around Jackson's waist.

"I'm sorry." the mechanic whispered.

"Urm... Okay." Jackson replied in confusion, stroking a hand gently over the head which was suddenly lying in his lap "Er... Sorry for what exactly?"

"For acting like a twat... I mean I know I overreacted to what they said and all, I'll fix things with them I promise!"

Jackson frowned. The mechanic almost sounded scared that he was angry and blaming him for the incident.

"Well I'm glad you're going to sort it out but..." the older man paused for a second, unsure whether to say what he felt and possibly put a cat amongst the pigeons, but he wouldn't have Aaron worrying that he thought this was all his fault so continued on "I mean I know I don't know exactly what happened and what was said, but from the sounds of it I'm not really surprised you're pissed off. I think I would be too if I were in your place!"

The younger man sat up and stared at him as if he'd sprouted a second head.

"Ya what?" Aaron asked, brows drawn together in puzzlement.

"Ya what what?" Jackson replied, not really understanding what the mechanic was asking.

"You... You don't think I was being unreasonable?"

"Well from what you told me last night I can't imagine they'd have any reason to think that you'd bring a strange man back here would they?"

"Wow..." the younger man murmured sounding slightly stunned.

"Er... Why wow?" the contractor queried feeling more lost than ever.

"It's just whenever something goes wrong most people automatically assume that it's my fault... It's kinda weird having someone tell me I'm not the one being a muppet!"

"Why do they assume everything's your fault?" Jackson asked.

"Um..." Aaron began "Cos it usually is if I'm honest." he answered blushing.

The older man snorted and shook his head with a wry smile. Whilst he happened to be on his boyfriend's side on this occasion, he could all too well imagine Aaron's tendency to speak his mind when riled being the cause of numerous upsets. And there were days when being riled was the mechanic's default setting. Still, he didn't want Aaron to be miserable and this argument was certainly making him that, anything he could do to help settle the situation could only be a good thing.

"Look, whilst I agree that Paddy and Rhona were in the wrong, is it really worth having a massive falling out over? They seem genuinely sorry for what happened and they quite clearly care for you a hell of a lot and... Well maybe you caught them by surprise? They're just as new to you bringing boys home as you are after all. Parents are renowned for messing that up!"

"I guess..." Aaron frowned doubtfully.

Jackson was suddenly struck with inspiration. Maybe this was an opportune time to share one of the more unpleasant experiences of his life, and perhaps finally some good might come of it?

"The first time I brought a guy home after coming out to my parents, my dad punched me in the face." he said quietly.

Aaron's eyes widened in shock "What? Why?" he exclaimed.

"He just couldn't handle the fact that I was gay. After it happened him and mum had a massive argument and he walked out and never came back. The funny thing was the guy wasn't even gay, he was just a mate from school who'd come back to do some homework with me."

"That's not particularly funny." the mechanic scowled.

Jackson let out a bark of bitter laughter "No, I guess not."

Aaron was back to chewing on his lower lip and had turned his head to look thoughtfully towards the kitchen. The contractor hoped that he was considering how lucky he was in his relationship with the vets and that a small nudge in the right direction would tip the scales once and for all.

"They seem really supportive... Don't let a little mistake break your family apart."

The younger man regarded him for a minute then a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"What's someone as smart as you doing with someone like me?" he asked softly.

"No idea... You're just lucky I guess!" Jackson replied with a cheeky grin and a wink.

The smile bloomed fully on Aaron's face and he leant forward to look Jackson in the eye.

"Yeah I am. And don't think I don't know it." he whispered before closing the gap between them to brush his lips across the older man's in brief but tender kiss.

"Now come on," the mechanic said, climbing to his feet and heading towards the kitchen "Lunch'll be getting cold!"

His mind a blank and his whole body tingling from the feel of his boyfriend's lips against his own, Jackson could do nothing but wordlessly follow.

-x-x-

This day was turning out very strangely indeed. For sometime now his life had seemed quite steady... He got up in the mornings, went to work, maybe went for a drink afterwards or to the gym, went home, had his tea, and eventually went to bed. Day in, day out that was pretty much the routine and he stuck to it. Routine meant stability and stability was what he'd always been lacking. Then Jackson had appeared on the scene and routine and stability had gone out the window it seemed.

Ever since he'd first laid eyes on the older man his emotions had been in turmoil. One second he'd want to spend as much time with him as possible, the next he'd be certain that keeping his distance would be best. One minute he'd feel on top of the world because of some stupid joke Jackson had made, the next he was down in the dumps because he'd realise that Jackson being so funny made him like him even more. One day friendship was enough, the next he couldn't abide the thought that they'd never have anything more. Then last night his quite literally wildest dreams had come true.

Many people might say that as dreams go, meeting someone in a club, going home with them and sleeping with them isn't terribly wild. But for Aaron that someone had been the one person he wanted more than anyone he'd ever met but who he'd given up all hope of ever having as anything more than a mate. He'd fallen in love with something he'd considered unobtainable then discovered that he could've just reached out and taken it at any time if only he'd had the courage to do so.

For someone who'd spent his life never feeling like he belonged anywhere, that he was never good enough for the people who were supposed to care about him to bother doing so, finding that there was even a chance that the man who's occupied the edge of your every waking thought could possibly be interested in you would be amazing enough. To find that Jackson actually liked him and wanted him in return had completely blown the mechanic's mind. Even after they'd gone back to Dale Head and the contractor had demonstrated several times that he found Aaron attractive, the younger man could still hardly believe that someone as kind and smart and amazing as Jackson would be willing, let alone eager, to be his boyfriend. The moment Jackson said those words had to be the best in his entire life.

Mere minutes later he'd plunged from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Paddy's words had angered him, but even worse was the terrible hurt that had followed, the feeling that he wasn't part of the family. He knew of course that technically he _wasn't _part of Paddy, Rhona and Brennan's family, but so much time had passed where they treated him as if he was that he'd pushed the fact that this wasn't the case out of his mind. As a child and as a teenager a loving family had been conspicuously absent from his life, and whilst he'd always told himself that he didn't care, when he'd found himself part of one in Smithy Cottage he realised just how much he'd wanted to belong. To feel like that had been snatched away was unbearable. Thank god for Jackson.

It was easy to imagine what would have happened if the older man hadn't made him stop and think. The pain would have festered away inside him, vindication of the belief he used to have that attachment only leads to heartache. He would have pushed them away, Paddy, Rhona, even Brennan... They would've become people who he avoided, just like he avoided his mother even now. Maybe he would even have run away again, left the village for good and gone back to his old habit of never letting anyone get close. He would've missed so much of life, eventually finding himself a lonely, bitter old man with no friends and nobody to care about him.

Aaron smiled to himself. Okay, so maybe he was going a bit far in his extrapolation but he could easily have ruined his relationship with the Kirks. Jackson just seemed to have a way of looking at things from other points of view. That was a skill he'd never been able to master, probably due to the mile long stubborn streak he had running through him, but as soon as the contractor had calmly pointed out that the situation was a new one to everyone and that mistakes were bound to be made, Aaron had known that Paddy hadn't meant to hurt him. He should have been able to see it for himself but he'd been blinded by his injured feelings and the ensuing anger.

And now? Now the roller coaster was on the way up again. He'd walked into the kitchen to find Rhona just setting down the plates of food, Paddy tucking a napkin into Bren's shirt in anticipation of gravy spillages and Clyde lurking under the table waiting patiently for the scraps that inevitably came his way during the course of a Sunday lunch. The two vets had frozen as he came through the door, each of them giving him the same worried look.

Just like always, being stared at had made him want to be somewhere else as quickly as possible but he'd fought the urge and had even managed a slightly strained smile as he took his seat. He'd known then for sure that everything was going to be okay. There could be no clearer evidence of how much his surrogate father cared about him than the look of intense relief that had flooded across Paddy's face as he sat down at the table. Jackson was right, throwing away the love their unconventional little family shared over a silly mistake would be something only an idiot would do. His younger self would have done it with hardly a second thought but he wasn't that person any more.

The trouble was he'd had no idea how to start getting things back on track. He wasn't good with words and feelings and stuff, even at the best of time - with this huge gaping void of awkwardness hanging over them, opening his mouth to say something was a truly terrifying and possibly totally counterproductive prospect. Just as the silence was getting painful his knight in red and white check had come breezing through the doorway.

"Rhona, that smells amazing! I can't remember the last time I have a roast dinner... No wait actually I can... My mum made one last time she came to visit. Set fire to the kitchen curtains... I think I wish I could forget that!" Jackson had rattled off as rolled up to the table and he pretty much hadn't shut up since. Aaron often made fun of the older man for being such a chatterbox, but in this instance he was grateful that his boyfriend could talk the hind legs off a donkey. It meant that he could wind down, only having to throw in the odd few words every now and again to show willing. Plus there was the bonus that he loved listening to Jackson's voice he thought with a smile.

And Jackson was certainly proving to be a hit. The man had a knack of getting along with pretty much anyone, something which never ceased to amaze Aaron who would be the first to admit that he lacked it completely. Paddy and Rhona were proving to be no exception. The three of them had met previously of course – a few times in the pub or when Brennan had decided that a visit on the way back from nursery was in order, but they'd never before really had the opportunity for an extended conversation that they had now. The contractor had them laughing so hard that that Rhona looked like she might slide off her chair if she wasn't careful and Paddy was having to mop his glowing red face with a handkerchief. Aaron, being absorbed in his consideration of life, hadn't really been paying attention but he had a strong suspicion from the way Jackson's eyes were twinkling at him that the laughter was at his expense. Surprisingly he found he didn't mind and just rolled his eyes in exasperation at his boyfriend and went back to picking at his lamb. Under the table a strong hand squeezed his thigh and he was back on top of the world.

The meal progressed and Aaron found that he was enjoying himself. As he'd calmed down he'd begun to pay proper attention to what was being said around him and he was learning things about Jackson that he hadn't known. The vets were asking all sorts of questions that he probably never would've thought to ask. He found out that they'd grown up living less than two miles from each other and had gone to schools which had been bitter rivals in all things sporting; that Jackson had got into building through a work experience placement which had led him to leave school at sixteen and never look back; that his favourite colour was red; that he was allergic to strawberries... Trying to file away all the little facts that were cropping up was making his head spin!

"Aaron gave birth to me!" Brennan suddenly piped up, clearly bored of the current topic of conversation and deciding to start his own.

The mechanic coughed as a piece of Yorkshire pudding went down the wrong way and Paddy had to slap him on the back before he could breathe properly again. Jackson was looking at him with eyebrows raised and a highly amused expression on his face.

"Something you're not telling me?" the older man asked wryly.

Aaron glared at his brother. He was sure that the kid deliberately got things wrong to the worst possible effect.

"I'm sure Uncle Jackson isn't interested in that Bren. And I don't think Clyde's going to be interested in that Brussels sprout you're waving at him under the table." Aaron growled. The smug sense of satisfaction he got from the mirroring glare the little boy shot back at him as Paddy retrieved the offending vegetable and returned it to his plate was short lived though.

"I think you'll find that Uncle Jackson would be incredibly interested in any story that involves you giving birth to a baby actually!" the contractor contradicted him with a broad grin.

"He means Aaron delivered him." Rhona explained "He was quite the hero actu-"

"Please not this story _again_!" the mechanic groaned. He'd had to sit through it god knows how many times and it never failed to be anything but embarrassing.

"Oh come on! If I'm dating a hero I ought to know about it!" Jackson laughed.

"She's just being dramatic!" Aaron snapped "You know what women are like when it comes to babies... Hormones and stuff... Makes 'em mental. Don't pay any attention to 'er."

"Oi!" Rhona exclaimed "Don't think that you're too old to be bent over my knee young man!"

The idea of that was so patently ridiculous that all he could do was gape at her, and whilst he was lost for words the vet took the opportunity to launch into her story...

-x-x-

_So far April had been a thoroughly wet a miserable month and tonight was proving to be no exception. The wind howling off the dales drove the rain so hard against the windows that the sound threatened to drown out the TV. And given that Aaron had taken possession of the remote control that was no mean feat._

_Rhona was supposed to be on call, but after she'd slipped on some mud and taken a bit of a tumble whilst visiting a lame sheep up at Butler's Farm a couple of days ago, Paddy had put his foot down and insisted that she start her maternity leave earlier than planned. She'd tried to argue but her husband was having none of it and eventually she'd grudgingly agreed. Unfortunately they hadn't been able to find a locum who could start immediately with the result that Paddy had been permanently on call ever since._

_Listening to the storm raging outside the female vet couldn't help but smirk to herself. She would bet a large sum of money that her husband was currently regretting being so stubborn! The fact that this evening he'd had to go and tend to a horse in foal would just add insult to injury – he was scared to death of horses! Maybe when he got back home he'd be more inclined to listen to reason and let her get back to work. She had over two months before she was due and she was sure she could easily manage a few more weeks on the job. Still, she could enjoy being cosy and warm at home for tonight at least._

_"Fancy a brew?" she asked Aaron as she levered herself off the sofa. Never taking his eyes off the football match he was watching the young man gave a grunt which she took to mean 'Yes Rhona, a cup of tea would be lovely thank you very much.' Shaking her head she headed for the kitchen. She felt that she ought to be annoyed with his moodiness but her heart wasn't in it. The boy had had it tough since his return to Emmerdale and the past few weeks had been especially rough. The building of the new garage was behind schedule because of the weather and, whilst Aaron hadn't said anything to her or Paddy, she knew that money was becoming tight. Only this morning she'd found him fast asleep at his desk, pages and pages of invoices and sums being used as a pillow. From the quick glance she'd been able to give them Rhona could see that if Aaron was unable to start taking on paying customers soon he'd be in trouble. It was no wonder he was quiet._

_The kettle had just boiled and she was taking a couple of mugs out of the cupboard when the first twinge of pain made her hiss. It wasn't bad and Rhona thought maybe she'd pulled a muscle in her side whilst reaching up to the shelf, but then the second came like a knife stabbing her in the gut. The cups fell from her hands, the smash as they shattered on the tile floor mingling with her shriek as she doubled up in agony._

_"Rhona?" she heard Aaron call from the living room but she was unable to answer him with her teeth gritted together against the pains that were tearing through her body. And then he was suddenly there, kneeling on the floor beside her, a strong hand gripping her shoulder, his face scared and white as a sheet as she looked up at him through eyes swimming with tears._

_"Something's wrong... The baby... I think... I think it's coming!" the vet managed to gasp before a fresh wave of agony took her breath away._

_"It can't be!" Aaron practically wailed "It's too soon! Make it stop!"_

_Despite the situation Rhona managed a bark of laughter at that. If there had been anything she could do she would have done it and done it gladly, but there was nothing for it now other than to pray for the best. Another excruciating spasm brought the crushing terror of the situation crashing back to the front of her mind, and as it subsided and she managed to open her stinging eyes, Aaron was nowhere to be seen._

_He'd left her! She couldn't believe that he'd gone! They thought he was past running away when things got tough but apparently they'd been wrong... Of all the times he could have picked to revert to form... She couldn't do this alone, she didn't think she could even call for an ambulance in her present state. Rhona had just opened her mouth to scream a few choice words describing her feelings for the mechanic when he hurried back in with an armful of blankets and pillows and towels. She only had a moment to gape at him before he was fussing around trying to make her as comfortable as possible on the kitchen floor. The vet was glad that he didn't try to move her somewhere else, biting him would've been embarrassing and she already felt bad about thinking the worst of him a few seconds before._

_Once she was as comfortable as she was probably going to get given the circumstances, Aaron wrestled his mobile out of his pocket and tapped at the keypad before putting the phone to his ear. A few seconds later he swore and stood scowling at the floor, tapping his foot impatiently._

_"Paddy!" he suddenly snapped into the handset "When you get this message you need to come home now! Rhona's having the baby!"_

_Ending the call the young man had immediately dialled again. Rhona stopped listening for a minute, all she could think about was that Paddy wasn't going to be there. Who knew how long it would take for her husband to check his voicemail? The family that had called him out were experienced horse breeders so they clearly felt he was needed if they'd asked for help... It would be ironic if he missed the birth of his child because he was delivering a foal. Still, he was better equipped to deal with a pregnant horse than a pregnant wife, she could imagine the panic he'd be in if he were here now! She still wished he was holding her hand though..._

_"HOW LONG?" Aaron's shout brought her back to the situation at hand._

_"I don't care what the weather's like, she needs an ambulance right now!" the mechanic yelled as he stalked up and down the length of the kitchen waving his free arm around in agitation "What? I told you, seven months... Well how the hell am I supposed to know how far into the delivery she is?"_

_Rhona found herself laughing again at the look of horror that spread across Aaron's face at whatever the operator had suggested. Taking pity on him she told him that she didn't think the baby was going to be popping out just yet and the intense relief that practically poured off him as he relayed the news down the phone actually made her feel a little better. That was ruined by his words as he ended the call._

_"Um... They say the ambulance could be up to an hour... There's been a lot of accidents on the roads 'cause of the weather and stuff and they're rushed off their feet. They'll be here as soon as the can though."_

_The next forty five minutes or so were possibly the worst of Rhona's life. Whilst the initial wracking pains seemed to have dulled the fact that she'd had them at all preyed constantly on her mind. Of course she'd been expecting some pain but nothing like this. Together with the fact that she wasn't due to go into labour for another two months there was clearly something wrong and here she was stuck at home with only Aaron to look after her._

_Admittedly, after the initial shock had worn off he'd proved to be surprisingly good at being a birthing partner, helping her with her breathing and timing her contractions. She'd demanded to know where he'd learnt that from and he'd shyly admitted to reading some of her birthing books just in case. He'd also helped keep her occupied by telling her some very interesting stories about Paddy that she'd never heard before. She got a vicious sense of glee whenever she thought about bringing them up at some future time when she wanted to make her husband squirm... Probably if he ever suggested that they try for another baby! Then her waters had broken._

_This time she hadn't found the look on Aaron's face amusing and had screamed and shouted at him in a tirade that had only been cut off by the strongest contraction yet hitting her with full force. They'd been coming more and more frequently and she could feel the baby wasn't going to wait much longer. Aaron was back on the phone to the emergency services who, if the mechanic's side of the conversation was anything to go by, were being as vague as before about when the ambulance might turn up. She could feel tears streaming down her face as the urge to push became too overwhelming._

_"Aaron! It's coming!" she sobbed and he was by her side again in an instant._

_All she could remember of the next god knew how long was pain and sweating and screaming, Aaron's voice a steady stream of encouragement, the tinny echo of the emergency operator giving them both instructions from the speaker of the mechanic's mobile irritating beyond belief... And then one last titanic effort and..._

_"It's a boy!" Aaron exclaimed._

_Rhona looked over her knees at the mechanic holding a tiny, messy body to his chest, an expression of utter wonder on his face as he stared down into his arms, and closed her eyes, sagging back against the kitchen cabinet in relief. She'd done it! The baby was here and she could finally rest for a few blessed moments._

_She floated exhausted on the edge of consciousness, wishing that she could just fall asleep but some nagging, unrealised worry keeping her awake. Aaron's phone had still been yammering away on the floor next to them but the mechanic had picked it up and moved away slightly, and was now muttering urgently into the handset. Rhona cracked one eye open and saw that the young man had his back to her and was hunched over something on the floor._

_"Aaron?" she croaked through dry lips._

_He looked over his shoulder at her and she gasped. He looked dreadful. His face was stark white apart from a where a smear of blood streaked his left cheek and his eyes swam with tears which threatened to spill at any moment._

_Rhona realised that her baby wasn't crying._

_"Aaron what's wrong?" she demanded, struggling to sit up and see what the mechanic was doing. He turned away without answering and went back to muttering into the phone._

_"Aaron! Tell me what's wrong!" the vet could feel herself starting to panic as she watched him put the phone down and lean forward. She was almost too weak to move but with the last of her strength she managed to tip herself to one side so that she could just see round the mechanic's back._

_The baby was lying on a bed of bloody towels, so small and still and blue that Rhona knew that the breaths that Aaron was blowing into the tiny body before him were pointless. The wail of heartbreak that erupted from her mouth didn't even make the young man pause in what he was doing and for a minute she lay watching him breathe for her baby, watched as with two fingers he gently compressed the infant's tiny chest to work it's heart... It was no good though. She'd known as soon as that first fierce pain had hit that this was going to be the outcome. Maybe it was the fall she'd had or just that she'd worked too hard over the past few months... Maybe she hadn't eaten the right things or done enough exercise... Whatever the cause her child had arrived too soon to even have a chance at life and it was all her fault. She'd thought that the labour had been bad but it was nothing compare to the agony currently shredding her very soul._

_Somehow she found the energy to curl up into a ball, blocking out the sight of her lifeless son, and abandoned herself to the tears. How long she lay there sobbing she didn't know but it felt all too soon before the sound of approaching sirens invaded her grief. The ambulance! Oh how she hated that ambulance! If they'd arrived sooner her baby might have survived! She almost couldn't wait for the paramedics to burst in so that she could hit and scratch and spit bloody venom at them, make them feel even a fraction of the pain that their late arrival had caused!_

_"Rhona..." It was Aaron's voice but uncharacteristically gentle... That seemed to cut through her misery like nothing else might have done. How bad must she be for Aaron Livesy to not be using his usual "Stop being such an old woman." style of compassion. The vet opened her eyes with difficulty, the lids feeling so very heavy and the harsh kitchen lights only adding to her pain. He was leaning over her and he was smiling._

_How dare he be smiling at a time like this! She wanted to slap that grin right off his stupid face... In fact the anger that surged through her leant her a sudden burst of strength that would have had her doing just that and more if a small movement hadn't grabbed her attention. Aaron was holding in the crook of one arm what was unmistakably, despite currently being balled up in a loose bundle, his favourite hoody, and sticking out of a fold in the material was a minuscule but perfect little hand waving at her. She found that she didn't want to hit him anymore._

-x-x-

"I still don't believe you thought I'd be that callus." Aaron grumbled around the last of his roast potatoes.

"Hey!" Rhona exclaimed "I'd had the ultimate bad day, being emotional and potentially violent is allowed! Every time I tell that story you have to make a big issue about it!"

"And I never got my hoody back." the mechanic muttered.

"He always says that as well!" the vet informed Jackson who couldn't help but laugh. Only Aaron could do something like save a baby's life and then three years later be holding a grudge about the loss of his favourite top.

"I'll have to remember not to borrow anything off him." the contractor declared "Not that I'd be caught dead in anything he owns mind." he added in a stage whisper to Rhona from behind his hand.

"Oi!" the younger man snapped.

"Yes dear?" Jackson enquired, his eyes glinting mischievously.

Aaron glared at him for a second before letting out a tremendous sigh.

"What on earth is it is that I see in you?" he asked.

"Besides my sparkling wit and devilish good looks you mean?" the older man replied.

"Yeah, lets pretend that those are pretty much non-existent shall we?" Aaron snorted.

"Hmm... Well in that case it must be my massive-" Jackson began but paused for a second as Paddy choked slightly on his drink "...Intellect." the contractor finished with a grin at his boyfriend.

The mechanic was trying very hard not to smile. Jackson could see him fighting to stop his lips twitching up at the corners as Paddy continued to cough and Rhona shook her head at them in amusement. He gave Aaron a cheeky little wink which broke the last of his self control. The younger man put a hand over his mouth and looked away but he couldn't hide the fact that he was smiling broadly from anyone at the table.


End file.
